Baghdad: An Iraqi court on Monday sentenced a Turkish woman to death and 10 other foreign women to life imprisonment for joining the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

"The Central Criminal Court issued a death penalty by hanging for a female Turkish citizen and issued 10 verdicts of life sentences for other females from different nationalities," a spokesman for Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council said.

All the sentences are preliminary and subject to review by the Court of Cassation, spokesman Abdul Sattar al-Biraqdar was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

In January, the court sentenced a German woman to death for joining the extremist group and providing it logistical support that helped the group to commit their criminal acts.

She was also convicted of complicity in attacking the Iraqi security forces.

Thousands of IS fighters and supporters from various nationalities had joined the IS group when it took control of large swathes of land in Iraq and neighbouring Syria.

But after the Iraqi forces defeated the group in Iraq, hundreds of IS loyalists were killed or captured, while many others were still at large.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Bengaluru, Jan 27 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on Monday that all cases registered against pro-Kannada activists will be withdrawn.

The CM was addressing a gathering at the unveiling of the 25-feet-tall bronze statue of Bhuvaneshwari, the goddess who represents the Karnataka state identity, on the premises of the Vidhana Soudha.

The statue of Bhuvaneshwari, which was sculpted at an approximate cost of Rs 21.24 crore is 41-feet-tall including the pedestal, and weighs around 31.5 tonne.

ALSO READ: MUDA case: ED summons CM Siddaramaiah's wife to appear before it on Tuesday

While speaking at the event, although he acknowledged that one must love and embrace all languages, the CM said, in Karnataka, Kannadigas should follow the culture of speaking and interacting with “their brothers and other speakers” in Kannada.

“Instead of speaking incorrectly in other languages, we should speak our own language. In all our neighbouring states, the language spoken by the people of the respective state is sovereign. This should be practiced here, too,” said Siddaramaiah.

Insisting that everyone in the state should develop respect for the Kannada language, culture and art, the CM called for more learning and teaching of reading and writing Kannada.

“Only then will Kannada become the sovereign language,” he added.

Get all the latest, breaking news from Karnataka in a single click. CLICK HERE to get all the latest news from Karnataka.