Jordanian Soldier Sentenced To Life For Killing 3 US Military Trainers

Newsweek: War on ISIS: Jordan Soldier Sentenced To Life For Murder of Three US Special Forces

A military court in Jordan on Monday gave one of its soldiers a life sentence for shooting and killing three American special forces at a base near the capital Amman in November.

The court in the Jordanian capital found that 39-year-old Maarik Al-Tawaiha was guilty of shooting dead the military trainers as they waited at a checkpoint in vehicles at the King Faisal base in southern Jordan.

It demoted him, removed him from military service and handed him a sentence of "hard labor for life."

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More News On A Jordanian Soldier Being Sentenced To Life For Killing 3 US Military Trainers

Jordanian soldier sentenced to life for killing 3 US troops -- AP
Jordan soldier who killed US trainers jailed for life -- BBC
Jordanian soldier gets life for killing 3 US trainers -- AFP
Jordanian soldier gets life in prison for killing 3 U.S. soldiers -- UPI
Life Sentence for Jordan Soldier In Killing of US Troops -- Al Bawaba
Jordanian Soldier Convicted of Killing 3 US Troops -- VOA

President Donald Trump And King Abdullah II Joint Press Conference (Video)

U.S. Investigators: Killing Of Three U.S. Soldiers In Jordan Appears To Have Been Deliberate

The three special forces soldiers killed last week in Jordan were identified as Staff Sgts. Matthew Lewellen, Kevin McEnroe and James Moriarty. (Photos courtesy U.S. Army)

Denver Post/Washington Post: Killing of U.S. soldiers in Jordan appears to have been deliberate, investigators say

Officials investigating the slayings of three U.S. soldiers in Jordan this month say they now know precisely how the Americans were killed but still lack a clear explanation for why a Jordanian guard opened fire on the men as they returned to their base from a training mission.

Surveillance video and witness accounts confirm that the soldiers from the 5th Special Forces Group were shot without provocation as they prepared to enter Prince Faisal Air Base in southern Jordan on Nov. 4. Yet, more than two weeks later, no information has emerged linking the guard to extremist groups or causes, according to U.S. and Middle Eastern officials familiar with the ongoing probe.

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WNU Editor: No one is saying it officially .... but it looks like this is an incident of deliberate murder/terrorism.

Was The Death Of 3 U.S. American Soldeirs In The Middle East Terrorism?

The body of an American soldier killed in Jordan on Nov. 3, 2016. CBS News

CBS: Disturbing details emerge in deaths of 3 American soldiers in Jordan

A new -- and sinister-- picture is emerging in the shooting deaths of three American soldiers earlier this month in Jordan, an important U.S. ally in the Middle East.

When Army Sgt. James Moriarity’s body came home, U.S. officials said a video of the incident in which he and two other American soldiers were killed appeared to show a deliberate terrorist attack -- not, as was first believed, a tragic accident.

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Update: U.S. Investigates Deaths of 3 Soldiers in Jordan as Possible Terrorism (NYT).

WNU Editor: The CBS report makes it clear that the original story coming out of Jordan saying the Americans did not stop is not true. As for the Jordanian guard who killed them .... and who investigators want to interrogate .... he is still in a medically induced coma.

Suspicions That The Killing Of Three U.S. Soldiers At A Jordanian Air Base Was Terrorism

New York Times: U.S. Investigates Deaths of 3 Soldiers in Jordan as Possible Terrorism

JERUSALEM — American officials said Wednesday that they were investigating the killing of three United States soldiers at a Jordanian air base this month as a possible terrorist attack and dismissed suggestions that the three had done anything to provoke the shooting.

The Nov. 4 shooting has been shrouded in secrecy as American and Jordanian officials investigate it, a sign of the sensitivity surrounding the episode. But the Americans evidently became irritated at reports that seemed to place at least some blame on the soldiers.

“Investigators are considering all potential motives and reasons for why American service members came under fire, and they have not yet ruled out terrorism as a potential motive,” the American Embassy in Jordan said in a statement. “Contrary to press reports, there has been absolutely no credible evidence to suggest that U.S. personnel acted contrary to orders or established procedures when accessing the base.”

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Previous Post: Few Answers On Why 3 U.S. Servicemen Were Killed In Jordan (November 6, 2016)

WNU Editor: When no news was released on what exactly happened that resulted in the deaths of these 3 soldiers was a sign to me that this was an act of  terrorism. I suspect more details will be released in the coming days/weeks/months.

Few Answers On Why 3 U.S. Servicemen Were Killed In Jordan

New York Times: Few Answers for the Family of a U.S. Soldier Slain in Jordan

JERUSALEM — On Thursday, Staff Sgt. Jimmy Moriarty, an American Special Forces soldier on a training mission in Jordan, called his sister to check in. Everything was “hunky-dory,” as his father put it. In just two weeks, he would be home.

The next day, Sergeant Moriarty died in a hail of gunfire along with two other American military trainers, evidently killed by a member of the same Jordanian armed forces that the United States had sent the soldiers to help.

In an era of continuing danger to American forces overseas, the shooting at the King Faisal air base in southern Jordan still seemed shocking. Jordan, which has worked closely with American military and intelligence services for many years, had largely escaped the sort of violence that has plagued so many of its neighbors.

“We thought Jordan was safe,” James R. Moriarty, the slain sergeant’s father and a trial lawyer from Houston, said by telephone on Saturday.

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Previous Post: 3 U.S. Military Trainers Killed By Security Forces At Jordan Base (November 4, 2016).

WNU Editor: I know that it is too early to conclude on what happened, but it is starting to look like a deliberate attack.

3 U.S. Military Trainers Killed By Security Forces At Jordan Base (Updated)

CBS: 3 Americans dead in shooting at Jordan military base

Three U.S. service members were killed Friday in a shooting incident at a military base south of Jordan’s capital city Amman, a U.S. official said.

The service members were in vehicles approaching the gate of a Jordanian military training facility, where they came under small arms fire, the official said. The U.S. was working with Jordanian officials to investigate further.

Jordanian state news agency Petra first said the shooting occurred at the entrance to the King Faisal Air Base, in the al-Jafr area south of Amman, after the vehicles carrying the service members failed to stop at the security gates.

The agency later dropped the reference to a vehicle failing to stop at a gate, saying only that there was an “exchange” of gunfire.

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More News On 3 U.S. Military Trainers Killed By Security Forces At A Jordan Base

Officials say three U.S. service members killed in Jordan attack -- Military Times
US military service members killed in shooting at Jordan base -- France 24
Three U.S. trainers shot dead at Jordan base - military source -- Reuters
3 U.S. Military Trainers Killed at Jordan Air Base -- NYT
3 U.S. military trainers killed in gunfire by security units at Jordan base -- Washington Post
3 U.S. Service Members Shot Dead in Jordan at Military Training Base -- NBC
Three Americans are killed by gunfire at Jordan airbase after their car failed to stop at the checkpoint -- Daily Mail
Three members of US military killed in Jordan army base shooting -- The Guardian
3 U.S. troops killed in shooting near Jordanian military base -- USA Today