Jordan court sentences Islamic State member to 20 years

Convict, along with his two brothers killed in shoot-out with security forces, drove around home town in pickup truck firing into the air and then retreated to booby-trapped house

AMMAN, Jordan — A Jordanian court has sentenced an alleged Islamic State group member to 20 years of hard labor for a 2016 attack on security forces, an AFP correspondent at the trial said.

The 25-year-old was charged with acquiring automatic weapons along with his two brothers and turning their house in Ma’an, 210 kilometers (130 miles) south of Amman, into a bomb factory.

The brothers booby-trapped the house then raised black IS flags on a roundabout and on the minaret of a mosque in the town to attract the attention of security forces, the charge sheet read.

They also raised an IS flag on a pickup truck which they drove around town, shooting in the air, it said.

“When the accused saw a vehicle belonging to security services they opened fire, wounding those inside,” the charges said.

Officials said they then returned to their house, leaving the pickup outside to attract attention.

Security forces arrived, triggering a shootout which wounded several security personnel and killed two of the brothers. The third was able to blow up the house before being arrested.

Jordanian courts regularly try suspected jihadists, usually linked to IS.

Jordan is part of the US-led military coalition against IS and has carried out air strikes targeting the extremist group. It also hosts coalition troops on its territory.

The kingdom was hit by several attacks in 2016, including an IS suicide attack in June that killed seven guards near the border with Syria.

Islamist stronghold Ma’an has a bloody and rebellious past dating back to the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I.