Taylor Luck, The Jordan Times

AMMAN — Authorities have sentenced two men to prison for attempting to join Islamist forces fighting against the Syrian regime.

In a verdict issued Monday, the State Security Court handed two Jordanians two-and-a-half year prison terms on charges of “illegal acts harming the state’s relations with its neighbours” and “malicious acts against citizens and their property” for supporting jihadist forces in Syria.

According to judicial sources, the two men — aged 29 and 39 — were apprehended by security forces along the Jordanian-Syrian border in January while attempting to cross into Syria to allegedly join jihadist groups fighting against the Bashar Assad regime.

Mousa Abdullat, defence attorney and representative of Jordan’s Jihadi Salafist movement, said the two men — who hail from Amman and Salt — were veteran members of the movement.

Islamist sources claim that the men were seized while en route to Daraa to join Al Qaeda-linked Jabhat Al Nusra coalition.

Monday’s verdict raises to 13 the total number of citizens imprisoned for alleged ties to Syrian jihadist groups.

In September, the State Security Court sentenced a group of 11 Jordanians to prison terms ranging from one to five years on charges of unlawful acts and “exposing the Kingdom and its citizens to danger” for alleged ties to Syrian jihadist groups.

Another 40 citizens with alleged ties to Syrian jihadist groups remain in prison awaiting trial, according to Abdullat.

Authorities are leading a security crackdown along the 370-kilometre Jordanian-Syrian border to stem the flow of fighters and arms between the two countries, with security sources reporting the arrest of 30 foreign militants this month alone.