Sears Tower bomb plotter jailed

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A judge in the United States has handed down a six-year jail term to one of five men convicted of planning to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago.

Burson Augustin was sentenced for his minor role in the conspiracy and for allegedly swearing allegiance to al-Qaeda.

Augustin was convicted of involvement in the plot by a Miami court in May.

The 23-year-old and his four co-defendants also planned to bomb FBI buildings across the US.

Prosecutors had been seeking a 30-year term for Augustin, but US district judge Joan Lenard gave him a lighter sentence.

"Islamic terrorism is one of the most tremendous problems that this country now confronts... and this defendant took an oath to al-Qaeda," the judge said.

But she suggested that he had been influenced by ringleader Narseal Batiste.

The other four men are due to be sentenced in the next few days. Prosecutors are seeking terms of between 30 and 70 years for them.

The Chicago landmark has since been renamed the Willis Tower.