Iraq said on Sunday it had hanged 36 militants sentenced to death over the mass killing of hundreds of mainly Shia soldiers at a camp north of Baghdad two years ago. It is the highest number of militants executed in one day by the Iraqi government since Islamic State fighters took control of parts of northern and western Iraq in 2014. Claimed by Islamic State, the truck bomb that blew up in the Karrada district was the deadliest since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. Iraq's Justice Ministry announced days later that 45 death sentences had been carried out since the beginning of the year. UN concernsAn estimated 1,200 people are on death row in Iraq, including possibly hundreds who have exhausted appeals, the UN statement said.

Source: CBC News August 21, 2016 18:22 UTC