Jordan jails four in plot to attack Westerners

AMMAN, Mar 12 (Reuters) A Jordanian military court today jailed four Islamist youths for 10 years for plotting to attack luxury hotels and attack Western tourists, lawyers said.

A three-man military court also handed a fifth fugitive militant a life prison term in absentia for the plot -- foiled last year -- to blow up hotels in the capital frequented by Westerners.

Jordanian intelligence officers were also the target of the group who come from the city of Salt, west of the capital, which has become a stronghold for Islamist fundamentalists.

The verdict is the latest in a series of jail sentences passed this year against dozens of Jordanian militants, many of whom were either detained or charged for plotting attacks on Israelis, Americans and Westerners.

Security officials in Jordan, a staunch U.S. ally, say the rise in militancy is tied to growing anti-American sentiment after the invasion of Iraq.

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