Indonesia hands death sentence to Islamic State-linked cleric for militant attacks

Islamic cleric Aman Abdurrahman leaves a court following his verdict in Jakarta, Indonesia, June 22, 2018. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside

JAKARTA (Reuters) - An Indonesian court on Friday sentenced to death a cleric linked to Islamic State, for masterminding from his jail cell a string of deadly militant attacks across the world's largest Muslim-majority country.

The ruling comes as Indonesia struggles to rein in a rising tide of homegrown militancy, inspired in part by the extremist group Islamic State, with parliament approving tougher anti-terrorism laws last month.