Jordan’s National Security Court convicted members of a terror cell affiliated with Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Jihad on Sunday, for planning terror attacks in Jordan and in the West Bank (Israel), reports the Jordanian daily A-Dustour.
The court sentenced ‘Ali Mamdouh Fathi Al-‘Umari and Muhammad ‘Sabri Muhammad Qasim Al-Jundi, to five years of forced labor. The two planned to commit terror attacks in Jordan against Jewish and other foreign tourists.
Three other cell members were convicted of planning activities which could have put the country in danger of violence, and were sentenced to three years in jail.
The two main suspects made contact with terrorists outside of Jordan, in order to receive money and weapons. Al-‘Umari was also supposed to train cell members to attack hotels and busses in tourist areas. He was arrested before he could implement his plans.
During 2004 Al-Jundi began recruiting Jordanians for terror attacks inside Israel, in the West Bank. At least one Syrian citizen was involved in the planning, and one Jordanian has already begun receiving training in the use of explosive devices.
The attacks did not take place, as Jordanian police arrested the defendants in February.