Mauritanian Sentenced to Death for Killing of U.S. Schoolteacher

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania -- A Mauritanian court has sentenced to death a member of an Al Qaeda cell for the 2009 slaying of an American teacher.

The president of the tribunal Khayi Ould Mohamed announced in a verdict late Tuesday that the court found Mohamed Abdallahi Ould Ahmednah guilty of planning the murder of Tennessee native Christopher Leggett.

Leggett, 39, was fatally shot in the Mauritanian capital on June 23, 2009 not far from a school he helped run. A North African offshoot of Al Qaeda claimed responsibility, saying they killed him because he allegedly was trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.

The judge also condemned accomplice Didi Ould Bezeid to 12 years in prison and Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Khouna to three years for providing logistical support.