Audio By Carbonatix
Iraq has hanged three people convicted of involvement in a vehicle bombing in Baghdad that killed more than 300 people and injured hundreds in 2016.
It was the deadliest single bombing in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003.
The Islamic State group (IS) said it had carried out the attack.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's office did not name those executed or say when they had been sentenced. The executions were carried out on Sunday and Monday, it said.
A government source told AFP news agency that Ghazwan al-Zawbaee, held to be the IS mastermind behind the attack, was among those put to death. Zawbaee had been captured and returned to Iraq in 2021.
The prime minister informed victims' families that "the rightful punishment of death sentence" had been carried out against "three key criminals found guilty of their involvement in the terrorist bombing", his office said.
On 3 July 2016 a vehicle filled with explosives was blown up next to a crowded shopping centre in Karrada, a mainly Shia Muslim area of the Iraqi capital.
People had been enjoying a night out after breaking their daily fasts for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Many of the victims were killed by a fire that ripped through the building after the bomb blast.
Interior Minister Mohammed Ghabban resigned in the wake of the blast.
The then-Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, accused Zawbaee of being the "primary culprit" behind that attack and "many others".
IS, a Sunni Muslim group, once controlled 88,000 sq km (34,000 sq miles) of territory stretching from eastern Iraq to western Syria and imposed its brutal rule on almost eight million people.
Despite the group's defeat on the battlefield in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later, it is estimated that thousands of militants remain active in both countries.
In March, the UN estimated that IS still had "5,000 to 7,000 members and supporters" across Iraq and neighbouring Syria, "roughly half of whom are fighters".
Latest Stories
-
Bond market: Turnover declined by 28% to GH¢1.56bn
13 minutes -
Volta Region National Public Speaking contest advances drug prevention conversation
18 minutes -
New health training facility at Ampoma-Jema to address admission shortfalls, but Minister flags missing amenities
43 minutes -
Black Challenge unveiled with sights set on Amputee World Cup glory
1 hour -
Pay striking teachers before expressway spending, Dr Kingsley Agyemang tells government
2 hours -
Customs intercepts assault rifle, two pistols and 610 rounds of ammunition at Tema Port
2 hours -
PKO boxers secure wins at Odwira Festival
2 hours -
South Tongu Records Rise in Teenage Pregnancy
3 hours -
Cabinet threw out US health compact faster than anything I’ve seen – Mahama
3 hours -
MoFA urges Finance Ministry to reverse World Bank food programme withdrawal over GH¢643m commitments
3 hours -
NAGRAT demands signed timelines before calling off strike
3 hours -
National Investment Quiz: West Africa SHS, St. Louis SHS advance to semi-finals
3 hours -
Shatta Wale appeals to Mahama for balanced framework to tackle social media abuse without stifling free speech
3 hours -
Education Ministry urges data-driven talks to resolve teacher impasse
3 hours -
‘What we wanted was money to buy medications’ – Dr Nawaane on US health support
3 hours