Iraq parliament bomb planners sentenced to death

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three men were sentenced to
death in Iraq on Thursday for masterminding a suicide
bomb attack on the parliament building last
November, Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council said.
The suicide bomber managed to drive into Baghdad's
heavily fortified Green Zone on November 28 and
blew himself up in the car park of parliament, killing
one person and wounding six. The attack was claimed
by al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq.
"The central criminal court in Karkh (in central
Baghdad) sentenced three people to death by
hanging today after they were convicted of bombing
the parliament building last year," the Council said in
a statement.
Militants frequently fire mortars and rockets at the
Green Zone in central Baghdad, which also houses the
U.S. and other embassies as well as some ministries,
but only rarely manage to cross the perimeter.
While overall violence in Iraq has dropped from the
height of sectarian fighting in 2006-07, this month
has been particularly violent, with over. 150 people
killed in bombings targeting mainly Shi'ite Muslims.
Bombings in and around Baghdad on Thursday killed
13 people and wounded more than 50.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi
Pillay, in February criticized Iraq for carrying out a
large number of executions and questioned the
fairness of its judicial proceedings.
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