A federal jury in Ohio convicted two American citizens and a Lebanese man Friday of plotting to recruit and train terrorists to kill American soldiers in Iraq, a case put together with help from a former soldier who posed as a radical bent on violence.

Mohammad Zaki Amawi, 28, Marwan Othman el-Hindi, 45, and Wassim Mazloum, 27, were found guilty of conspiracy to kill or maim persons outside the United States and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.

The men face maximum sentences of life in prison. But U.S. District Judge James G. Carr did not set a sentencing date, said acting U.S. attorney Bill Edwards.

"Today's verdicts should send a strong message to individuals who would use this country as a platform to plot attacks against U.S. military personnel in Iraq and elsewhere," said Patrick Rowan, acting assistant attorney general for national security, in a written statement. "This case also underscores the need for continued vigilance in identifying and dismantling extremist plots that develop in America's heartland."

At trial defense attorneys claimed that the three defendants, who all lived in the Toledo area, were manipulated by the government's star witness, Darren Griffin.

The undercover FBI informant and former Army Special Forces soldier recorded the men for about two years beginning in 2004 while they talked about training in explosives, guns, and sniper tactics. They often met in their homes and at a tiny storefront mosque where they prayed together.

Griffin won the trust of the men by posing as a former soldier who grew disenchanted with U.S. foreign policy who was now intent on violence against America.

Griffin said most people at the mosque shunned him and that no one raised any threats until el-Hindi began talking about kidnapping Israeli soldiers. Amawi, Griffin said, asked him to help him train two recruits from Chicago for holy war.

According to one secret recording made by Griffin, Amawi said he was troubled by the loss of life in New York in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but he quickly added: "Killing Americans in Iraq is OK."

Griffin testified that he twice traveled to Jordan with Amawi and also taught Amawi and Mazloum how to shoot guns.

El-Hindi told Griffin, according to recordings heard in court, that he knew two cousins who were eager to receive "jihad training." Griffin asked el-Hindi if he was recruiting for jihad. "Oh no, I just want to take these two," el-Hindi answered, adding that he wanted to take care of them for their families.

The two Chicago-area cousins — Khaleel Ahmed of Chicago and Zubair A. Ahmed of suburban North Chicago — have pleaded not guilty to conspiring to kill American soldiers and face trial next year.

Amawi, El-Hindi and Mazloum were convicted of conspiring to kill or maim people outside the United States, including military personnel. Amawi , a dual U.S.-Jordanian citizen, and el-Hindi, a U.S. citizen born in Jordan, were also convicted of distributing information regarding explosives to terrorists.

Mazloum, who went to the U.S. legally from Lebanon, was a college student who helped his brother run a used-car lot. Amawi once worked at a bakery. And el-Hindi was a married father of seven.

Griffin testified that the three gathered in the same place just once during the two years he investigated them. He also said that he never saw e-mails from the men that talked about plotting to kill soldiers.(AP-AFP-Naharnet)