A Jordanian military court on Monday convicted three men of planning to carry out attacks on American and Israeli tourists in Jordan and sentenced each to three years in jail.
According to The AP, Col. Fawaz Buqour, the presiding judge at the military State Security Court, said the main defendant, Omar Sayel al-Khalayleh, 19, was influenced by the ideology of his uncle, the al-Qaeda-linked suspect Ahmad Fadhil al-Khalayleh, who is better known as Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi.
"Through the relationship with his uncle...Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, the first defendant took up an ideology which regarded the ruling regime in the kingdom as infidel and espoused jihad on the Jordanian arena through attacking tourists," Buquor said.
He added the court was convinced that Omar al-Khalayleh was the mastermind of the cell, which included also Hamza Mohammed Al-Momani, 20, and police Cpl. Ayman al-Khawaldeh, 25. (Albawaba.com)
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