Iraq to hang German woman for joining IS

An Iraqi criminal court has sentenced a German-Moroccan woman to death by hanging after convicting her of joining the Islamic State militant group.

"The central criminal court in Baghdad has reviewed the case of a female defendant, who is holding the German nationality and charged with terrorism, and sentenced her to death by hanging in line with the anti-terrorism law," judicial spokesman Abdel-Sitar Bairaqdar said in a statement on Sunday.

"The convict admitted that she had travelled from Germany to Syria and then to Iraq out of her belief in the hardline group, and that she had brought her two daughters with her, who married members of the terrorist group," he added.

The accused had provided logistics support and was involved in IS's attacks on Iraqi forces, according to Bairaqdar, who did not specify the woman's age.

The verdict can be appealed.

Hundreds of foreign fighters from Europe joined IS after the al-Qaeda-splinter group had seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and neighbouring Syria in 2014.

In recent months, IS has suffered military setbacks and lost ground in both countries.