DHAKA: Iraq has hanged 26 people convicted of ‘terrorism’ offences, the Justice Ministry announced on Tuesday, pursuing a practice of mass executions despite international criticism.

All those executed on Sunday were Iraqi nationals. Among them was Adel al-Mashhadani, a ‘Sahwa’ militia leader in Baghdad who was ‘famous for sectarian crimes’, Iraq justice minister Hassan al-Shimari said in a statement on the ministry’s website, reports The Straits Times.

Sahwa (Awakening) militias are formed mostly of Sunni Muslim tribesmen who helped United States troops roll back an Al Qaeda-led insurgency in Iraq from 2006 onwards.

Violence in Iraq has surged in the past year to its highest levels since the Sunni-Shia sectarian bloodshed that peaked in 2006 and 2007 when tens of thousands of people were killed.

BDST: 2112 HRS, JAN 21, 2014