Soldier Gets Life Sentence for Killing Three U.S Troops

 

For killing three U.S. military trainers at the gate of a major air base in 2016, a Jordanian military court has sentenced a soldier to life imprisonment with hard labour. According to judicial sources on Monday, the soldier had been charged with premeditated murder and had pleaded not guilty.

 

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/NAN