Iraq sentences U.S. citizen to life in prison over al Qaeda links

PanARMENIAN.Net - An Iraqi court has sentenced an American citizen to life in prison on charges of assisting al-Qaeda and financing terrorist activities in Iraq, according to a government statement, The Associated Press reported.

The Interior Ministry said Omar Rashad Khalil, 53, was recruited by al-Qaeda in Iraq in 2005. Khalil, an architectural engineer, is of Palestinian descent and entered Iraq in 2001, the ministry statement said.

The ministry released excerpts from a confession it said Khalil made in which he admitted to receiving money from a Syrian man in the United Arab Emirates to pay for terror attacks.

Also known as Abu Mohammed, Khalil was sentenced by Baghdad's central criminal court on Wednesday, Oct 3. Iraqi government officials could not immediately be reached for more details Thursday.

A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Frank J. Finver, said embassy officials were aware of the reports and were checking them. He declined immediate comment.

Meanwhile, Iraq's Justice Ministry said six people convicted on terrorism charges were executed on Thursday, bringing the number of executions since the beginning of this year to 102. The ministry statement had no further details and did not identify the six.

The increase in government-sanctioned executions in Iraq has raised concerns among international human rights observers about whether the defendants are receiving fair trial. Iraq has shrugged off calls to abolish the death penalty.