Iraq executes 4 al-Qaeda leaders

Four al-Qaeda leaders have been executed by Iraqi authorities, according to Iraq’s Justice Ministry. In a statement, the department confirmed that four al-Qaeda militants, including the former governor of Baghdad, were executed by hanging after a trial found them guilty of terrorism charges. “The Iraqi Corrections Service carried executions against four al-Qaeda leaders, convicted of terrorist offenses, at dawn on Monday,” said the ministry. The department named the suspects as Munaf Abdul Rahim Abdul Hamid al-Rawi, Mohammed Nuri Matar , Ibrahim Abdel Qader Ali and Mohammed Jaber Tawfiq. Earlier this month, Iraq’s Justice Minister Hassan Shammari has confirmed that his ministry "will continue to implement execution verdicts against terrorists." He insisted that death warrants were the only way to deal with terrorism. Iraq has been experiencing increasing bomb attacks in recent months.