Iraq has hanged three people convicted of involvement in the 2016 Baghdad bombing that killed more than 300 people and injured hundreds after a truck bomb exploded in a shopping mall.
It was the deadliest attack against civilians since the bombings in Yazidi towns in Iraq in 2007. The Islamic State group (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack. The organization was defeated and lost control over territory, but it still remains active.
The executions were carried out on Sunday or Monday. This was reported from the office of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani. They did not disclose the names of the individuals who were hanged, but a government source told the French news agency AFP that Azwan al-Zaubi, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the attack, was among them.
The Prime Minister conveyed to the families of the victims of the attack that "the rightful punishment of the death penalty has been carried out against three key criminals found guilty of their involvement in the terrorist attack."
On July 3, 2016, a truck full of explosives exploded near a crowded shopping center in Karada. The Minister of the Interior at the time, Muhammad Aban, resigned from his position following the explosion. The prime minister at the time, Mustafa al-Qadimi, blamed Zaubi as the main culprit behind the attack.
Despite the defeat of ISIS in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later, thousands of militants remain active in both countries. The United Nations estimates that the organization still has 5,000 to 7,000 members and supporters. They are found throughout Iraq and Syria, about half of them are fighters.