Trial of Amman 'gunman' opens

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The trial has opened of a man accused of shooting dead a British tourist in Amman last month.

Nabeel Ahmad Issa Jaaoura is accused of murdering Christopher Stokes in the Jordanian capital's Roman amphitheatre.

Mr Jaaoura, 38, pleaded not guilty to the charge as well as charges of carrying out a terrorist attack and unlawful wounding.

A policemen and five other tourists - including two British women - were injured in the attack.

The prosecution alleges Mr Jaaoura fired a pistol at Western tourists on September 4 while shouting "Allahu akbar", the Arabic for "God is great".

A friend of Mr Jaaoura's told the hearing he had lent the defendant money to buy the pistol.

The witness, Mohammed Ali, said Mr Jaaoura was a Muslim fundamentalist who used to get angry when he saw American and Israeli tourists in Jordan.

His hatred of such tourists intensified after the outbreak of conflict in Iraq in 2003, Ali told the court.

Mr Jaaoura faces death by hanging if convicted of murder.

Mr Stokes, 30, an accountant from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, had left his job at an audit company in Dublin, for a tour of the Middle East.

The case was adjourned until 1 November.