Jordan sentences five members of ISIL cell to death for terror

The kingdom's state security court also handed jail terms of between three and 15 years to another 16 Jordanians in the same case

Jordanian policemen leave after ending security operations at the Crusader-era castle in Karak, where armed gunmen carried out an attack a day before, on December 19, 2016. Muhammad Hamed/Reuters

AMMAN // A Jordanian court sentenced five members of an ISIL cell to death by hanging on Wednesday for acts of terrorism.

The state security court in Amman also handed jail terms of between three and 15 years to another 16 Jordanians in the same case.

They were found guilty of deadly “acts of terrorism”, the manufacture of explosives and “possession of weapons and ammunition for use in terrorist acts” and recruiting people for “terrorist organisations”.

The group of 21 were members of an ISIL cell that was broken up in March during a large-scale security operation in the northern town of Irbid, near the border with Syria.

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ISIL in Jordan

■ Karak assault signals change in ISIL's tactics in Jordan

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Seven suspected militants and a member of the Jordanian security forces were killed during the operation.

The authorities announced later that they had foiled ISIL attacks in the kingdom, which had already been hit by deadly attacks over the past year.

Ten people were killed in a shooting rampage on December 18 in the popular tourist destination of Karak. The attack was claimed by ISIL and marked the first time the group had targeted civilians in Jordan.

Two days later, the authorities arrested a man suspected of funding the attack in a raid on a house in Karak province.

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

In total, the kingdom has been hit by four attacks this year, including a suicide attack in June that killed seven guards near the border with Syria. That attack was the first to to be claimed by ISIL in Jordan.

* Agence France-Presse