Jordan to try Iraqis over killing

AMMAN (Reuter) - Jordan is to put on trial two Iraqi men accused of involvement in the murder on Monday of an Iraqi nuclear engineer who was shot dead as he went to collect visas for a teaching job in Libya.

'The two men will not be handed over to Baghdad,' a government spokesman said. 'The crime was committed in Jordan - premeditated murder - and they will be tried for it here and very soon.' He said the two would be tried in a regular court.

The killing of Moayyad Hassan Naji al-Janabi in the Jordanian capital is believed to have been ordered by Baghdad as a warning to potential dissidents. Janabi's family held a small, private funeral for him yesterday. Jordanian security officers outnumbered mourners.