4 guards of Iraq's fugitive VP get death

BAGHDAD, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- An Iraqi court sentenced to death several of fugitive Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi's guards for charges related to terrorism, an official said.

"The [Iraqi Central Criminal Court] issued [a] capital penalty against six among Hashemi's guards for charges of supplying a car bomb to be detonated in al-Madaan area of southern Baghdad targeting the pilgrims heading to Karbala province [for] Ashura," a judicial source, whose name was not published, told IraqiNews.com.

The court has issued four death verdicts against Hashemi, who was tried in absentia and faced more than 150 charges alongside 73 of his guards. The trial began in May.