Baghdad, Jun 25 (IANS): The Iraqi judiciary has issued death penalties against 13 people for joining the Islamic State (IS) terror group and being involved in a plot to carry out deadly attacks.

A statement by the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council issued on Thursday said that a court issued the death penalties after the convicts confessed to joining the extremist group and their intention to carry out terrorist attacks during the holy month of Ramadan in 2019, reports Xinhua news agency.

The statement came three days after another court issued four death sentences and a life imprisonment term against a local IS leader for his involvement in various terrorist crimes in Salahudin province north of the capital Baghdad.

The leader, whose name was not revealed, was found guilty in several cases, including the killing of five Iraqi soldiers in a roadside bombing; complicity with other convicts in the kidnapping of a civilian; and carrying out attacks with other IS militants on the town of Amerly, some 150 km north of Baghdad.

In June 2014, the IS group took control of large swathes of territories in western and northern Iraq, including Salahudin.

Iraq officially declared full liberation from IS militants on December 9, 2017 after three years of intense bloodshed.