U.S. forces hand criminals over to Jordan

AMMAN, Jordan, July 20 (UPI) -- U.S. forces in Iraq have handed over to Jordan two men convicted in absentia and sentenced to death by Jordanian courts for involvement in terror attacks.

A judicial source told UPI Tuesday that Moammar Ahmed Youssef al-Jaghbir was referred to Jordan's state security court, where he will appear for retrial on charges of conspiring to carry out terror attacks and involvement in the assassination of U.S. diplomat Laurence Foley in Amman in October 2002.

Al-Jaghbir was found guilty of assisting Salem Bin Sweid, a Libyan who was convicted of Foley's assassination.

The state security court had sentenced al-Jaghbir to death in absentia last April along with Ahmed Fadil al-Khalayila, better known as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the suspected leader of al-Qaida's network in Iraq.

He was handed over to Jordan in May, the source said.

The U.S. forces also turned over to Jordan a man sentenced to death in absentia for his part in a February 2002 bombing aimed at an intelligence officer, in which two people were killed.

Amman's daily al-Rai said Tuesday U.S. troops arrested Ali Mustafa Youssef Siam in Baghdad and interrogated him, after which he admitted he was wanted in Jordan for his part in the assassination attempt against Ali Berjak, the head of the intelligence unit for combating terrorism.