An Iraqi judicial official says a court in Baghdad has sentenced two French citizens to death for being members of the Islamic State group.
The official said Sunday that the court sentenced Fadil Hamad Abdallah, 33, of Moroccan origin and Vianney Jamal Abdelqader, 29.
"There was sufficient evidence to hand down a death sentence. They both were fighters of the terrorist Islamic State organization," the prosecutor said of the convictions, which can be appealed.
The new sentences raise the number of French citizens sentenced to death over the past two weeks to nine, with another three suspects due to stand trial on Monday.
Those sentenced are among a group of 12 French citizens who were detained by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in neighboring Syria and handed over to Iraq in January.
French President Emmanuel Macron's government has said France respects Iraqi sovereignty, but opposes the death penalty.
Last week, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said France was intensifying diplomatic efforts to prevent the executions of its citizens.
