A Yemeni court sentenced 13 Islamist militants to prison terms of up to seven years Wednesday for planning attacks against American and other Western targets.
Group leader Ali Sufyan al-Amari was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in founding the group with the intent of kidnapping foreigners and bombing Western interests in Yemen.
Other members of the group received prison terms ranging between 18 months and six years.
Only one of the 14 defendants, Faisal Abdul-Aziz, was acquitted because he had turned himself in and cooperated with investigators. All the defendants were present in the court.
The group also was charged with planning attacks against military and security officials and possession of explosives and weapons.
Yemen, the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden, had long tolerated Muslim extremists but cracked down on militants following the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. It also has allowed American forces to train Yemeni troops to combat terrorism.
