United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday appointed German prosecutor Christian Ritscher as head of the UN team investigating crimes committed by the Islamic State group in Iraq.

Ritscher succeeds Karim Asad Ahmad Khan of Britain, who was sworn in as prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in June.

The UN team aims to support the government of Iraq in its indictment of IS members by collecting, preserving and storing evidence that may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

In May, the team said it had gathered clear and convincing evidence that IS had committed genocide against members of Iraq's Yazidi minority.

Ritscher previously served as a federal public prosecutor in Germany and has more than 30 years' experience in international and domestic criminal prosecutions, the UN said in a statement announcing his appointment.

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IS jihadist attack kills 13 Iraqi police: security, medics
Kirkuk, Iraq (AFP) Sept 5, 2021
Thirteen Iraqi policemen were killed in an Islamic State group attack against a checkpoint in the country's north early Sunday, security and medical sources said. The attack, in the region of Al-Rashad around 65 kilometres (40 miles) south of Kirkuk city, took place just after midnight, a senior Iraqi police officer told AFP. "Members of the Islamic State organisation targeted a federal police checkpoint," said the officer, who did not want to be named. "Thirteen were killed and three wound ... read more