Kut - An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced three members of the Ansar al-Sunna extremist group to death for rape, murder and kidnapping, an AFP correspondent reported. This was the first time the death penalty was handed in Iraq since the government of Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari was sworn in earlier this month.The three men - aged 25, 30 and 44 - were found guilty of involvement in 20 different operations during which they killed and captured Iraqi police and raped Iraqi women. The special criminal court in Kut said the sentence would be carried out "in the coming 10 days". Members of the public attending the trial applauded the sentence and shouted "Long live justice". It was not immediately clear how the three insurgents would be executed. Ansar al-Sunna is a network of extremist Islamist organisations in Iraq which has carried out some of the bloodiest attacks and killings since the March 2003 US-led invasion.