Morocco: Islamic terrorist group jailed

RABAT, Morocco, July 11 (UPI) -- A Moroccan man was given a life prison sentence and his associate received 10 years behind bars for organizing a terrorist group and planning attacks.

Hicham Doukali and his accomplice Hassan Azougar were found guilty of attempting to use a gas cylinder in an unsuccessful suicide strike in Meknes, Morocco, in August 2007, Med Basin News Line reported.

Doukali, 31, was found guilty of trying to use a butane bottle to bomb a tour bus full of people, the report said.

Officials said Doukali lost his left hand and had his leg broken when the bottle exploded too soon. No other injuries were reported.

"He was caught red-handed," the state prosecutor said at the Thursday sentencing in Rabat, Morocco.

The report gave no details on how Azougar took part in the attack.