Jail for McDonald's blast suspect

An Indonesian Muslim militant has been sentenced to 18 years in jail for his part in a deadly blast in a McDonald's restaurant last year.

It was the longest sentence yet handed down in the case.

Arman, alias Galaxi bin Abdul Somad, was accused of transporting and hiding the bombing device for the perpetrators.

Police are still hunting for the mastermind of the bombing, which killed three people and injured more than a dozen in the eastern city of Makassar, capital of South Sulawesi province.

Arman was reported to have smiled when the verdict was handed down. Prosecutors had asked for 20 years' imprisonment for the defendant, and the maximum penalty the crime carries is death.

The verdict brought the number of people convicted in the case to 16.

Authorities have said that suspects in the McDonald's blast knew those who carried out the bombing in Bali last October. The Bali bombers are believed to belong to the Indonesian militant network Jemaah Islamiah.