The Latest: 3 men convicted in asylum home grenade attack

BERLIN – The Latest on Europe’s reaction to its influx of migrants (all times local):

8 p.m.

Two men have been convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to several years in prison for throwing a hand grenade onto the grounds of a home for asylum seekers in southwestern Germany.

The grenade was thrown over the fence of the facility in Villingen-Schwenningen in January and landed next to a container used by security staff. It didn’t explode, and a bomb squad destroyed it.

Prosecutors suspect the attack was motivated by rivalry over contracts between security companies.

News agency dpa reported that the state court in Konstanz on Friday sentenced the two men alleged to have thrown the grenade to 3 and 3 1/2 years in prison.

A third suspect was convicted of inciting the attack and sentenced to 3 1/2 years.

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4:30 p.m.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II says Chancellor Angela Merkel should be commended for her decision to open Germany’s doors to hundreds of thousands of migrants and for her government’s support for his and other countries in the region dealing with the flood of refugees from Syria.

Jordan, with a population of about 6.5 million, hosts about 635,000 refugees from neighbouring Syria. In brief remarks Friday after talks with Merkel, Abdullah said the chancellor’s approach brought a “breath of fresh air” into the challenges faced by his country and elsewhere.

Germany last year saw 890,000 migrants arrive and has also been a critical supporter in providing more aid for countries like Jordan and Turkey that share borders with Syria.

Abdullah told Merkel she raises “the moral bar very high.”