Jordan sentences five to death for 'terror'

A court in Amman yesterday sentenced to death five Jordanian members of a dismantled cell linked to the Islamic State jihadist group for "terrorism".

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

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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 IS cell that was broken up in March during a large-scale security operation in the northern town of Irbid, near the border with Syria.

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

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