Jordan hangs US diplomat killers

Zarqawi has been sentenced in absentia for the killing

Two militants convicted of killing a US diplomat in the Jordanian capital in 2002 have been hanged, officials say.

Libyan Salem bin Suweid and Jordanian Yasser Freihat were among 10 Islamic militants found guilty in 2004 over the killing of Laurence Foley.

Mr Foley, of the US Agency for International Development, was shot dead in Amman in October 2002.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was accused by the Jordanian government of masterminding the attack.

The Jordanian-born militant has been sentenced in absentia for the killing.

Confessions

The shooting of Mr Foley outside his home was the first killing of a Western diplomat in the city.

Mr Foley was shot dead outside his home in October 2002

He was shot several times in the chest and head as he walked towards his car.

Bin Suweid and Freihat were arrested in December 2002 and accused of carrying out the actual shooting.

They had told the court they were innocent and had been forced to confess to the crime.

They were hanged in Swaka prison, south of the capital.

Six other Islamic militants were sentenced to death in absentia for the murder, including Zarqawi.

Two other defendants, Mohammed Damas and Mohammed Amin, who had also pleaded not guilty, were sentenced to 15 years and six years in jail respectively.