A Jordanian court on Monday sentenced a soldier to life imprisonment over the killing of three American military trainers outside an army base last year.
The military court in Amman found 39-year-old Maarik Al-Tawaiha guilty of shooting the trainers as they waited to enter the King Faisal base at Al-Jafr in southern Jordan on November 4.
The charge sheet did not indicate that he had any ties to militant groups.
The court sentenced him to “hard labour for life”, a term that usually lasts 20 years but could stretch to a full lifetime, a judicial official told an AFP correspondent at the courthouse.
It also demoted him from sergeant to second private and threw him out of military service.
Tawaiha, who wore a suit throughout the hearing, had been in custody since November but denied the charge.
The court had heard evidence from guards at the base and forensic experts.
The prosecution in June accused him of “voluntary manslaughter” as well as “insulting the dignity and reputation of the armed forces and violating military orders”.
Tawaiha said he had opened fire on the cars carrying the American trainers after hearing gunshots. Suspecting an attack on the base, he shot at them, killing the three Americans and wounding a Jordanian soldier.
The King Faisal air base hosts trainers of various nationalities including Americans, an official said.
The incident came a year after a police officer wounded two American instructors, four Jordanians and a Lebanese in a shooting at a Jordanian police training centre before being shot dead.
Jordan, which hosts some 2,200 American military personnel, is a key American ally and a member of the United States-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group.
Tens of thousands of Iraqi, Yemeni and Libyan forces have also received training in Jordan.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.