Families of slain US soldiers sue Jordan in legal first
The families of three Green Berets slain at King Faisal Air Base in 2016 have sued Jordan, alleging that the government tried to cover up the incident.
The families of three murdered Army Green Berets are suing Jordan under a recently passed law championed by relatives of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks who are seeking damages from Saudi Arabia.
Filed Friday in federal court in Washington, DC, the lawsuit accuses Jordan of aiding a terrorist cover-up and seeks damages from Amman under an expansive interpretation of the 2016 Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) that could open the door for more such actions against sovereign governments.
Army Staff Sgts. Matthew Lewellen, Kevin McEnroe and James Moriarty were killed by a lone gunman in November 2016 at King Faisal Air Base as they returned from a covert CIA mission training forces opposing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The effort to stand up Syrian opposition forces to fight Assad has since been canceled by the Donald Trump administration.
The lawsuit alleges that Jordan “aided and abetted” Sgt. Abu Tayeh, a Jordanian gate guard at the base, “by seeking to silence the families” and initially stating that Tayeh acted properly when he opened fire in response to a supposed loud noise. Tayeh was initially promoted and decorated, but has since been sentenced to life in prison for the shootings after an outraged reaction from the US government.
