WASHINGTON: The Pentagon confirmed yesterday that F-16 fighter jets and Patriot missile interceptors will remain in Jordan after the end of a joint military exercise this month. “Secretary (Chuck) Hagel has approved a request from the Kingdom of Jordan for a detachment of F-16s and Patriot Missiles to remain in Jordan following the conclusion of the Eager Lion Exercise next week,” spokesman George Little said. “All other US personnel assigned to Jordan for Eager Lion will depart at the conclusion of the exercise. The United States enjoys a long-standing partnership with Jordan and is committed to its defense.” A US defence official earlier this week said the military will also keep a unit of US Marines on amphibious ships off the Red Sea coast after consultations with Jordan, the official said. Officials have declined to say how many F-16 jets had been deployed.
Two Saudi women get 10-year jail term
RIYADH: A Saudi court handed two Saudi women 10-month jail sentences yesterday for seeking to help a Canadian woman who wanted to leave her Saudi husband with their children, human rights activists said. The court also banned Fawzia Al Ayuni and Wajiha Al Huaider from leaving the kingdom for two years, rights activist Aql Al Bahli said. They have a month to appeal against the judgment. The two women were convicted of the Shariah law offence of takhbib, or incitement of a wife to defy the authority of her husband, Bahli said. They had been briefly detained by police a year-and-a-half ago in the company of the Canadian woman who at the time wanted to flee the kingdom with her children after a row with her husband, he added.
Attack on Iran dissident camp in Iraq kills 3
BAGHDAD: A mortar attack on an Iranian dissident camp killed three people in Baghdad yesterday, police sources said, and the Mujahidin-e-Khalq (MEK) group said Iran was probably to blame, with Iraqi complicity. MEK said two of the camp’s residents were killed and 40 wounded in the attack. An Iraqi died when a stray mortar round hit a residential complex for Baghdad airport employees nearby. The attack targeted the MEK camp in a former US military compound in western Baghdad, where Iraqi authorities relocated most of the group last year from a base given to it by Saddam.
Agencies
