Pakistani scientist guilty of trying to kill US agents

An American-trained Pakistani scientist has been found guilty of attempting to murder US agents while she was detained for questioning in Afghanistan.

After the jury in a federal court in Manhattan gave its verdict yesterday, Aafia Siddiqui, 37, raised her arm and shouted: "This is a verdict coming from Israel, not America."

She had been arrested by Afghan police in July 2008 on suspicion of carrying chemicals and notes referring to "mass-casualty attacks" in New York.

During the two-week trial, FBI agents and US soldiers testified that when they went to interrogate Siddiqui at an Afghan police station, she snatched up an unattended assault rifle and shot at them while yelling, "Death to Americans". She was wounded by return fire but recovered and was brought to the United States to face charges of attempted murder, assault and gun charges.

Rights groups say she spent five years in secret US jails. She faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.