Posted on 10/18/2006 5:03:01 AM PDT by Mrs Ivan
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 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.
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".
Well isn't that nice.
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