TOP AIDE TO ISIL LEADER SENTENCED TO HANG

A top aide to the leader of the Islamic State was sentenced to death by hanging by an Iraqi court on Wednesday, becoming the highest-ranking member of the extremist group to be tried and punished in a court of law.

Ismail al-Ithawi was part of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s inner circle and was responsible for religious edicts, finances and designing the educational curriculum for the Islamic State. Ithawi, who used the alias Abu Zaid al-Iraqi, was captured in February and had been providing information to Iraqi authorities, including coordinates for airstrikes on targets in Syria, Iraqi officials said.

His capture, along with that of four other key figures he helped authorities track down, was touted by President Donald Trump in a tweet in May.