Jordanian soldier gets life imprisonment for killing 3 U.S. soldiers
*Family members of the killed soldiers were in the courtroom
to hear the verdict (Photo AFP)
A Jordanian military court sentenced a soldier to life
imprisonment with hard labour on Monday for killing three U.S. military
trainers at the gate of a major air base in 2016, a judicial source said.
The soldier had been charged with premeditated murder and
had pleaded not guilty, the source said.
The incident in November had led to tensions between
Washington and its Middle Eastern ally.
Jordanian authorities at first said the U.S. trainers had
been shot dead by the soldier when their car failed to stop at the gate of the
base.
Washington rejected that account and said it could not rule
out a political motive for the killings.
Jordan, a staunch U.S. ally, hosts several hundred U.S.
contractors in a military cooperation programme which includes the stationing
of U.S. F-16 fighter jets.
They use Jordanian airfields to hit Islamic State positions
in neighbouring Syria and to protect its borders.
Reuters
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