An Iraqi judicial official says a Baghdad court has sentenced to death three French citizens, members of the Islamic State group.

The official says the three, sentenced on Sunday, were among 13 French citizens handed over to Iraq in January by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media. Iraqi President Barham Saleh had said during a February visit to Paris that the 13 will be prosecuted in accordance with Iraqi laws.

Thousands of men and women came from around the world to join IS when it declared its self-styled Islamic caliphate in 2014.

It wasn't immediately clear how France, which abolished the death penalty nearly four decades ago, will react to the sentencing of its citizens.