Jordanian court sentences three Islamic State members to death for two terror attacks in 2018

22 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –

A Jordanian court has sentenced three members of the Islamic State jihadist group to death for being behind two terrorist attacks in August 2018 in the cities of Salt and Fuheis, in the Jordanian governorate of Balqa.

The first armed attack, carried out by a terrorist cell with a car bomb, left at least one policeman dead and several wounded during a music festival held in Fuheis, west of the Jordanian capital Amman.

A day later, the police carried out a raid in neighboring Salt to arrest the suspects in the attack, who planted another bomb in the building where the refugees were staying to prevent the operation, which resulted in at least four dead cops. In addition, three of the attackers died.

The State Security Court has thus sentenced three of the defendants to death, while eight others have been sentenced to prison terms of up to 20 years on charges related to terrorist financing, belonging to armed groups or the sale and use of weapons, as reported by the Petra news agency.

Jordan participated in the US-led airstrike campaign to wipe out Islamic State positions in Iraq and Syria. Between 2016 and 2018, the Arab country suffered a series of car bomb attacks by militiamen of the terrorist group.

In December 2016, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on the Karak castle in the south of the country, one of the main tourist attractions and in which ten people died, including a Canadian tourist.