The International Criminal Court (ICC) has sentenced the former head of the Islamic police in Mali’s historic city of Timbuktu to 10 years in prison for war crimes.

Prosecutors said al-Hassan Abdoul Aziz Mohamed Mahmoud led a “reign of terror” in the city after it was overrun in 2012 by the al-Qaeda-linked Ansar Dine group.

He was found guilty in June this year of torture, overseeing public amputations by machete and the brutal floggings of residents, including children.

Hassan, aged 47, was acquitted on charges of rape and sexual slavery, as well as destroying Timbuktu’s ancient mausoleums.