A Belgian jihadist has been sentenced to hang in Iraq for belonging to ISIS after a judge ignored his plea to be prosecuted in his homeland.

Bilal al-Marchohi, from the city of Antwerp, was given the death penalty for belonging to and conducting operations on behalf of the group.

The 23-year-old is one of dozens of foreign nationals facing execution in Iraq.

During an hour of proceedings at Iraq's Central Criminal Court, the judge read out portions of Marchohi's signed confession and showed a video and photographs that he said proved his membership in the terror group.

Belgian Bilal al-Marchohi (pictured in a French police notice) was given the death penalty for belonging to and conducting operations on behalf of the group

The images from a phone found in his possession at the time of arrest showed Marchohi carrying a gun and making a hand gesture affiliated with the militants. Several pictures showed him cradling his infant son.

Marchohi repeatedly denied all allegations against him in open court, including that he was a member of ISIS in Iraq at any time.

'I shouldn't be prosecuted in Iraq,' Marchohi said. 'I should be prosecuted in Belgium, I am a Belgian citizen.'

During the proceedings, judge Jumaa Saidi told the court that the photographs were clear evidence that Marchohi was a member of ISIS.

A translator was appointed by the judge for Marchohi, who spoke in English throughout the trial.

He was also given a court appointed lawyer with whom he had no contact at all throughout the trial.

A battle is ongoing to dislodge the militants from their final populated enclave in Syria near the Iraqi border

Belgian consular representatives attended the proceedings on Monday. The Belgian foreign ministry in Brussels said it was not immediately able to comment.

Marchohi is the second of two Belgians held in Iraq known to have been sentenced to death for a role in ISIS.

Tarek Jadaoun, 30, also known also known as Abu Hamza al-Beljiki, was sentenced to death in May 2018.

A senior member of ISIS, Jadaoun featured prominently in the group's propaganda videos which threatened attacks on European soil.

Iraq is conducting the trials of hundreds of suspected members of ISIS, many of whom were arrested as the group's strongholds crumbled throughout Iraq.

Human rights groups have accused Iraqi and other regional forces of inconsistencies in the judicial process and flawed trials leading to unfair convictions.

Meanwhile, dozens of foreigners who fled to join ISIS remain in Iraq and Syria having been captured or placed in camps.

Men prepare to be screened after being evacuated out of the last territory held by ISIS, near Baghouz, eastern Syria

British ISIS bride Shamima Begum was stripped of her citizenship by Home Secretary Sajid Javid after she was found in a Syrian refugee camp.

Ms Begum, from Bethnal Green, who left the UK for Syria aged 15, previously said she wanted to return to the UK for the sake of her newborn baby boy.

Mr Javid later rejected suggestions he was responsible for three-week-old Jarrah's death after the baby caught pneumonia in the refugee camp.

ISIS captured a third of Iraq in 2014 but was largely defeated both there and in neighboring Syria last year.

A battle is ongoing to dislodge the militants from their final populated enclave in Syria near the Iraqi border.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia besieging ISIS's last enclave in eastern Syria said this morning it had captured '157 experienced terrorists, mostly foreign nationals'.

The operation was carried out at Baghouz, the site of the ISIS enclave, by SDF special forces, said Mustafa Bali, the head of the militia's media office, on Twitter. He did not say when the operation took place.