[JURIST] A Baghdad court on Wednesday sentenced 24 alleged members of the Islamic State (IS) [BBC backgrounder] to death for the killing of hundreds of Iraqi soldiers during the group’s raid across the country last year. The men were convicted of taking part in the June 2014 massacre which led to the deaths of over 1,700 Iraqi soldiers. That month Human Rights Watch (HRW) [official website] concluded that ISIS committed mass executions [JURIST report] after seizing control of the city of Tikrit earlier this month, extrapolating from satellite photography and photographs released by ISIS of the executions. Although ISIS claimed to have killed more than 1,700 Iraqi soldiers [RT report] in the executions, military experts estimated approximately 170 deaths based on the photographs. The men, charged with murder and membership in a terrorist group, were sentenced to death [AP report] by hanging after all pleading not guilty.

IS, also referred to as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has been causing increasing international alarm over its escalating human rights abuses since its insurgence into Syria and Iraq [CNN timeline] that began in early 2013, prompting strong denouncements and military action against the group. In June the UNESCO World Heritage Committee said [JURIST report] that extremist groups’ destruction of antiquities and heritage sites in conflict zones could amount to war crimes. The committee noted particularly IS’ destruction of the ancient city of Hatra in Iraq, and was deeply concerned about the group’s capture of Palmyra in May [BBC report]. In March, the UN released a report [JURIST report] saying that other actions by IS may be war crimes. In February, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights jointly released a report [JURIST report] detailing violations against Iraqi civilians under the spread of IS. Also in February IS led suicide bombings in eastern Libya, killing at least 40 people [JURIST report] and injuring 70 more. IS said this was the group’s way of retaliating against Egyptian airstrikes protesting the IS presence in Northern Africa.