Jordan jails 10 for Islamic State-claimed Karak attack

Shooting attack in 2016 killed seven policemen, two Jordanian civilians, and a Canadian tourist, and wounded 34

By AFP 13 November 2018, 7:07 pm
Jordanian security forces stand guard outside a military court as members of a jihadist cell accused of involvement in a shooting attack in 2016 go on trial at the military State Security Court in the Jordanian capital of Amman on November 13, 2018. (Khalil Mazraawi/AFP)

AMMAN, Jordan — A Jordanian court on Tuesday sentenced 10 people to prison terms of between three years and life in connection with a deadly 2016 attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

The shooting attack in Karak, site of one of the region’s largest Crusader castles, killed seven policemen and two Jordanian civilians as well as a female Canadian tourist, and wounded 34 other people.

The defendants were charged in state security court, a military tribunal, with “terrorist acts,” illegal possession of arms, and producing explosives.

Two of them were handed life terms, while three were sentenced to 15 years in prison and five others to serve three years in jail. One defendant was acquitted.

Relatives of members of a Jordanian jihadist cell accused of involvement in a shooting attack in 2016 attend the trial at the military State Security Court in the Jordanian capital of Amman on November 13, 2018. (Khalil Mazraawi/AFP)

Courts in Jordan, the target of several deadly attacks, regularly put on trial suspected jihadists.

A close ally of Washington, the desert kingdom is part of a US-led coalition fighting IS in neighboring Syria and Iraq, and it allows coalition forces to use its bases.

read more:
comments