ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – An Iraqi court on Sunday handed a life sentence to a suspected Islamic State (ISIS) member accused of planning an attack on Arbaeen pilgrims in Karbala province. 

“The Karbala Criminal Court sentenced a terrorist affiliated with ISIS to life imprisonment for planning to target pilgrims during the Arbaeen commemoration of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) in 2026,” the judiciary said in a statement.

Arbaeen is an annual Shiite pilgrimage marking 40 days after the death of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, in Karbala. 

“The terrorist promoted ISIS ideology on social media and distributed pamphlets explaining how to manufacture improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and drones for use in terrorist attacks in the holy city of Karbala,” the judiciary added.

Baghdad has amped up efforts to sentence ISIS suspects. It also received over 5,700 ISIS prisoners from Syria in January after clashes between Damascus and Kurdish-led forces posed a risk to the facilities holding them.

Iraq’s judiciary in September announced it had completed interrogating the ISIS suspects from Syria.

A Baghdad court on Thursday sentenced three French nationals to life imprisonment over their alleged affiliation with ISIS, state media reported, days after another batch of six French jihadists were sentenced. 

Baghdad has also repeatedly called on international countries to repatriate their nationals who are detained in Iraqi prisons over ISIS-affiliation charges.

ISIS took control of swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territory in 2014, announcing its self-proclaimed caliphate with the city of Mosul as its capital. They were territorially defeated with assistance from the US-led coalition forces in Iraq by 2017 and in Syria by 2019.

Despite its territorial defeat, the group continued to pose a threat to Iraq’s national security through sporadic hit-and-run operations.