King Faisal Air Base shooting

King Faisal Air Base shooting
Three victims of the King Faisal Air Base shooting
Location King Faisal Air Base near Al-Jafr, Jordan
Coordinates 30° 20' 19" N 36° 08' 12" E
Date November 4, 2016 (2016-11-04)
12 p.m.
Attack type
 Mass shooting
Weapons
Deaths 3
Non-fatal injuries
 1 (the perpetrator)
Perpetrator Corporal Marik al-Tuwayha[2]
Convicted sentenced to life in prison with hard labor.
Charges Murder and intent to kill.

The King Faisal Airbase shooting at King Faisal Air Base, a Jordanian air force installation near Al-Jafr, Jordan in November 2016 was the deliberate shooting death of three U.S. Army Special Forces trainers stationed at the base by a Jordanian soldier who was guarding the base's entrance. The incident caused a rift between the governments of the United States and Jordan and also raised questions of what role the deceased American soldiers were playing in Jordan.[3] The Jordanian government formally charged the guard with murder and intent to kill, and he was sentenced to life in prison with hard labor in July 2017.[4]

Background

The United States and Jordan have maintained a strong military relationship since 1957 when the U.S. first began sending military aid to Jordan. In fiscal year 2013 the United States sent nearly $14 billion of aid to Jordan. In 1996, the United States bestowed Jordan with Major non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status, a designation that, among other things, makes Jordan eligible to receive excess U.S. defense articles, training, and loans of equipment for cooperative research and development.[5] Beginning in 2013, Jordan has also become a popular locale for U.S. training of groups such as Iraqi government troops and moderate Syrian rebels as part of the Syrian Train and Equip Program.[6][3]

The Syrian Train and Equip Program's roots in Jordan begin in 2013 when the first U.S. U.S. special forces trainers arrived in the country to train the program's first recruits. STEP was a CIA ran program and as such U.S. troops participating in it were "detailed" to the CIA in accordance with international law.[3] Jordanian military bases are most often used in the training of selected fighters.[7] One of these bases included King Faisal Air Base, located on the outskirts of Al-Jafr, Jordan, among other covert locations located around Jordan.[8]

Action of November 4, 2016

Shortly after 12:00pm (ADT) on November 4th, 2016 a convoy of four unarmored vehicles arrived at King Faisal air base. The convoy contained five American soldiers who were returning from a day of range training elsewhere. The first vehicle of the convoy passed through the base's sole access control point unimpeded. As the second vehicle approached to enter a Jordanian army guard, Corporal Marik al-Tuwayha, opened fire with his M16 rifle, striking through the windshield of the vehicle and killing Staff Sergeant Kevin McEnroe and Staff Sergeant Matthew Lewellen. The other Americans in the following vehicles shouted in both English and Arabic to Corporal al-Tuwayha to cease fire to no avail. Corporal al-Tuwayha then advanced on the other Americans in the convoy, firing on them as he did so. The two remaining Americans sought cover and returned fire. Staff Sergeant James Moriarty was killed and the remaining American shot Corporal al-Tuwayha with his pistol, critically wounding him and ending the gunbattle.[9]

The Americans in the convoy were not wearing body armor since it was not required to outside of some specified training which contributed to the devastating losses suffered in the shooting. Corporal al-Tuwayha was wearing body armor and was using a rifle while the Americans only had pistols for personal protection. Two of the Americans in the attack were medically evacuated but later died of their wounds. Corporal al-Tuwayha was severely injured and placed in an induced coma, he was taken to the same hospital and allowed in close proximity of them due to the lack of clarity surrounding the shooting.[10]

Investigation

Because of the lack of perceived threat and Jordan's status as an American ally, the US service members were traveling in unarmored vehicles, not wearing body armor and only carrying sidearms. The intelligence report on the incident recommends US forces in the future use armored vehicles and carry at least one rifle with them.[4]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened an investigation into the cause of the shooting.[11] Initially, the Jordanian military attributed the cause of the shooting to a case of friendly fire and insisted the US convoy did not heed orders from the Jordanian guard to stop. The American investigation stated that the shooting appeared to be deliberate. The FBI has investigated the Jordanian guard for links to religious extremism and/or ISIS, though no links have been found.[12] After reviewing video footage, the Jordanian military and King Abdullah II agreed that the US convoy complied with "established procedures at the base" and that the soldiers "did nothing to instigate the attack".[4]

1st Sgt. Marik al-Tuwayha was charged with murder for the attack, and pleaded "not guilty".[13]

Trial and conviction

Al-Tuwayha was convicted of murder in a Jordanian military court and sentenced to life in prison with hard labor. In Jordan, "life sentences" can theoretically last for life, but typically last for 20 years.[14][15][16]

Doubts about Jordanian investigation and trial

Security camera footage, not shown at trial or released to the media or to the public, but was shown to American investigators and to the families of the deceased, is described as showing that the shooting was of six minutes duration and shows the perpetrator reloading and shooting at the American troops who are shown waving their hands and shouting: "We're Americans! We're friendly."[16]

According to ABC News, convicted murderers sentenced to life in prison in Jordan are often released after twenty years, as with the case of the Jordanian soldier convicted and sentenced to life for the 1997 Island of Peace massacre who was released in 2017.[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ CNN: Military finds 3 US soldiers killed in Jordan acted properly, showed 'heroism' by Ryan Browne http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/07/politics/report-us-green-berets-jordan/index.html
  2. ↑ OMelveny, Sean. "Fathers of Slain Green Berets Accuse Jordanian of Murder". Military.com. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  3. 1 2 3 Gibbons-Neff, Thomas; Warrick, Joby (12 November 2016). "Army Special Forces soldiers killed in Jordan were working for the CIA". Retrieved 10 January 2018 – via www.WashingtonPost.com.
  4. 1 2 3 Browne, Ryan. "Jordanian soldier charged with killing 3 US soldiers". CNN. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  5. ↑ Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Country Information Paper, Jordan.
  6. ↑ “US developing plans to train Iraqis in Jordan,” Associated Press, January 23, 2014
  7. ↑ Americans are training Syria rebels in Jordan: Spiegel https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-rebels-usa/americans-are-training-syria-rebels-in-jordan-spiegel-idUSBRE9290FI20130310
  8. ↑ U.S. training Syrian rebels at secret bases June 21, 2013, 8:33 PM https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-training-syrian-rebels-at-secret-bases/
  9. ↑ New York Times: U.S. Soldier Who Survived Shootout in Jordan Tells His Story By DAVE PHILIPPS and BEN HUBBARD JULY 25, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/world/middleeast/special-forces-jordan-shootout-survivor.html
  10. ↑ SUBJECT: 4 Nov. 2016 King Faisal Air Base Shooting AR 15-6 Investigation Summary March 7, 2017 UNITED STATES SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND
  11. ↑ CNN, Barbara Starr, Jomana Karadsheh and Eugene Scott. "US officials probe possible terror motive in Jordan attack". CNN. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  12. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/joby.warrick; https://www.facebook.com/tgibbonsneff. "Investigators: Killing of 3 U.S. soldiers in Jordan appears to have been deliberate". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  13. ↑ Laub, Karin; Saad, Reem (June 19, 2017). "Witnesses describe Jordan shooting that killed 3 US troops". Army Times. The defendant, 1st Sgt. Marik al-Tuwayha, allegedly opened fire on the convoy as it waited to enter the base, killing the U.S. Army Green Berets.
  14. ↑ AFP (17 July 2017). "Jordanian soldier receives life sentence over death of three US military trainers". Retrieved 10 January 2018 – via www.TheGuardian.com.
  15. ↑ Bendix, Aria. "Jordanian Soldier Receives Life Sentence for Killing U.S. Military Trainers". TheAtlantic.com. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  16. 1 2 3 Saad, Reem (17 July 2017). "Jordanian soldier sentenced to life for killing 3 US troops". ABC News. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
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