A Somali military court sentenced six Moroccan men to death on Thursday over their alleged links to the Islamic State group.
The court in the northeastern state of Puntland on the Gulf of Aden coast sentenced two others – a Somali and an Ethiopian – to 10 years in prison each.
It said the men were members of the group’s affiliate in the state, a relatively stable region run by a semiautonomous administration.
A military prosecutor said they were arrested in Puntland’s Bari Region where the Islamic State is believed to have a base.
The defendants were told they could appeal against the sentences within 30 days.
The court freed a Somali man due to insufficient evidence
Puntland’s courts have issued similar sentences in the past, including against people from other parts of Africa.
In January, a non-governmental group said 23 of the least 55 executions carried out in Somalia last year took place in Puntland and Mogadishu.
Those executed included people accused of being members of the Al Shabaab and tbe Islamic State groups.
