Tareq al-Hashemi, Iraq’s vice-president, was sentenced to death by hanging. The charges are connected to the fact that he masterminded death squads against rivals in a terror trial that has fuelled sectarian tensions in the country.
Underscoring the instability, insurgents unleashed an onslaught of bombings and shootings across Iraq, killing at least 100 people in one of the deadliest days this year.
