Three convicted in 2023 Diyala attack arrested after four years on the run

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Three convicts sentenced in connection with a 2023 attack on civilians in Diyala province have been arrested following a four-year manhunt, a Diyala police directorate source said on Sunday. The arrests were carried out by Diyala's anti-crime units in a joint operation with anti-crime units from Karbala province in the village of Juwayla. According to the source, the Diyala Felony Court ruled on September 19, 2023, sentencing one defendant to death and the other two to life in prison. The verdicts, issued unanimously under the Counter-Terrorism Law and the Penal Code, came in absentia against suspects wanted for killings of civilians. The attack occurred on February 20 in the rural outskirts of Juwayla, in the Hils district, when an armed group assaulted a farm near the boundary with Bu Bali village. Eleven people were killed or wounded in the assault, which security officials said stemmed from long-standing tribal disputes. The three men arrested are among the wanted suspects linked to the attack, the source added. No further details on the next steps in the case were immediately available.