In a significant development, Iraqi authorities have executed at least 21 people, including one woman, mostly convicted on terrorism charges, according to security sources. The mass execution, reportedly one of the largest in recent years, took place in Al-Hut prison in the southeastern city of Nassiriya.

The individuals were accused of a variety of offenses, with many of them linked to terrorism, including being members of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group. A security official revealed that the woman executed was part of a group involved in a murder in 2019, at a time when Baghdad was gripped by anti-government protests. According to the official, the group had killed a man, whose body was later hanged from a pole.

Multiple sources confirmed that the bodies of the executed convicts, all Iraqi nationals, were transferred to Nassiriya’s forensic department after the executions. Although there is some uncertainty regarding the exact timing of the executions, with sources differing between Tuesday and Wednesday, the magnitude of the event has captured widespread attention.

The execution of 21 people in one day marks a return to Iraq's controversial use of capital punishment on a mass scale. Over recent years, Iraqi courts have issued hundreds of death sentences to individuals convicted of terrorism, a practice that has drawn criticism from human rights organizations for what they see as hasty trials and insufficient legal safeguards.

In July 2024, Iraqi authorities hanged 10 other terror convicts in Nassiriya, prompting calls from rights groups for the country to halt the death penalty. Similarly, in May, eight individuals were executed on terrorism-related charges, and another 11 were hanged earlier that month.

These executions come amid growing international scrutiny. Earlier this year, United Nations experts raised concerns about Iraq’s increased use of mass executions. In a statement, the UN experts highlighted 13 prisoners who were executed on December 25, 2023, labeling it the largest single-day execution since November 2020, when 20 people were executed.

Despite international criticism, Iraq’s Justice Minister Khaled Shuani has dismissed the concerns raised by UN officials. In late July, Shuani claimed that their analysis was "not based on documented evidence," according to the official Iraqi News Agency.

With these executions, Iraq continues to face mounting pressure from international rights groups to reconsider its use of the death penalty, especially in the context of terrorism-related trials, which have drawn accusations of being conducted too quickly and without due process.