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Jordan convicts militant plotters | Jordan convicts militant plotters |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A military court in Jordan has found eight Islamist militants guilty of plotting to kill US troops in Iraq and Americans and Jews in Jordan. | |
The militants, three of whom are still on the run, were given sentences of between 10 and two years. | The militants, three of whom are still on the run, were given sentences of between 10 and two years. |
The plot was led by Ahmed Shabaneh, who received the longest sentence. | The plot was led by Ahmed Shabaneh, who received the longest sentence. |
The crimes can carry the death penalty in Jordan, but the judge said reduced sentences would allow the accused a chance to reform themselves. | |
Fugitives Ahmad Yassin and Haitham al-Gazzaz were also given a 10-year jail term, while the others were jailed for up to seven-and-a-half years. | Fugitives Ahmad Yassin and Haitham al-Gazzaz were also given a 10-year jail term, while the others were jailed for up to seven-and-a-half years. |
Jordan has claimed a series successes in foiling terror plot in recent years, but has also suffered several attacks on civilian, tourist and military targets. | |
'Honour' | |
The five defendants in court shouted insults at the presiding judge as he delivered the sentence, calling him "the enemy and a tyrant". | |
"The charges are an honour for us," they said from the metal cage in which they were kept. | |
The court found Shabaneh had formed a militant group called the Victorious Sect in 2003, which plotted to send militants to join the anti-US insurgency in Iraq. | |
It also planned to attack US-run training facilities for Iraqi police officers in the Jordanian desert. | |
The indictment said Shabaneh was influenced by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the late Jordanian-born leader of the al-Qaeda in Iraq group. | |
It said that after the 2003 US-led war on Iraq, Shabaneh decided "to strike at Americans and Jews and carry out military operations against them inside Jordan". |
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