France to 'intervene' against death penalty for French IS members

France said on Sunday it will "intervene" in case its nationals are sentenced to death in Iraq and Syria for belonging to the Islamic State group.

An Iraqi court had sparked controversy last week after condemning to death by hanging a German woman of Moroccan origin after finding her guilty of belonging to the Islamic State group. 

Several dozen French nationals are believed to currently be held in detention in Iraq and Syria after an international military coalition rolled back advances made by the extremist group.

"Of course if there was a question of the death penalty, the French state will intervene," justice minister Nicole Belloubet told a host of French media outlets.

Pressed on what this meant, Belloubet said France would "negotiate with the state in question... on a case by case basis". 

IS has carried out scores of atrocities in Iraq and Syria since proclaiming a "caliphate" there in 2014 and has also been behind a string of attacks in Europe, including the 2015 Paris carnage that left 130 people dead.  

Tens of thousands of foreign fighters joined the extremist group after it seized vast swathes of Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate in 2014.