Six "criminals" were executed by hanging in Iraq this week, the justice ministry said on Thursday, without specifying if they were jihadists.

The ministry, in a statement, said they were put to death for having "shed the blood of Iraqis" after their appeals were rejected and the sentences ratified by the presidency.

It did not elaborate or identify any of the six who were hanged or say when they were executed.

A ministry spokesman questioned by AFP said only that the six were "terrorists" -- a term used by Iraqi authorities to mean anyone sentenced to death.

But forensic sources said at least one of them was a Syrian national, while two were Iraqis.

In June, Iraq executed 13 jihadists after the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the murder of eight civilians whose bodies were found along the highway north of Baghdad.

At the time the justice ministry said the 13 convicts put to death at a prison in southern Iraq "had participated in armed operations with terrorist groups, in kidnappings, bombings and murders of civilians".

It also said that another group of 64 convicts could be put to death as well after they lost an appeal for a stay of execution.

Iraq has repeatedly faced criticism from international human rights groups over the high number of death sentences handed down by its anti-terrorist courts.

In 2017, at least 111 convicts were hanged in Iraq and this year 31 people were executed.

Islamic State 'murderer' who entered US as refugee arrested
Washington (AFP) Aug 16, 2018 - US authorities have arrested an alleged Islamic State member and murderer who entered the country as a refugee, raising questions about the strength of the government's refugee screening process.

Omar Ameen, 45, was arrested Wednesday in Sacramento, California by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, three months after an Iraqi magistrate issued an arrest warrant charging him with the murder of an Iraqi policeman in 2014, the Justice Department said.

Ameen, from Rawah in Anbar province, entered the United States in 2014 after being granted refugee status, and recently sought permanent resident status by applying for a "Green Card" work permit.

But US authorities now say that Iraq has identified Ameen as a member of two designated jihadist terror groups, Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and the Islamic State group.

Iraqi authorities allege his family supported AQI's establishment in Rawah, and they say Ameen helped plant improvised explosive devices.

They also says he shot dead a policeman in Rawah on June 22, 2014, a day after Islamic State fighter seized the city. That alleged murder is the basis of an extradition request from Baghdad.

"Ameen concealed his membership in those terrorist groups when he applied for refugee status, and later when he applied for a green card in the United States," the Justice Department said.

Ameen's ability to enter the country as a refugee could lend support to President Donald Trump's controversial move last year to slash the number of refugees the United States admits annually.

Trump placed a cap on refugee admissions of 45,000 this fiscal year (ending September 30), compared to the 110,000 level set for fiscal 2017 by Trump's White House predecessor, Barack Obama.

But given the pace so far, the actual number of refugees to be admitted in fiscal 2018 could fall below 20,000: only 18,565 had been admitted as of August 10, according to Department of State data.

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Iraq's top musicians play on despite unpaid wages
Baghdad (AFP) Aug 14, 2018
In a dusty Baghdad dance studio, conductor Mohammed Amin Ezzat tries to fire up the musicians of Iraq's National Symphony Orchestra, whose enthusiasm has been dampened by eight months without pay. An ageing air conditioner fights to beat back the summer heat in the cramped space at the capital's School of Music and Ballet as the 57-year-old maestro leads the group through a rehearsal of Modest Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain". The shaggy-haired Ezzat and the 40 musicians surrounding him ar ... read more