Federal court sides with families of contractors

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal appeals court has ruled against Syria's effort to throw out a judgment of more than $400 million to the families of two American contractors whose beheadings in Iraq were posted on the Internet. In a 3-0 decision, the court said the Syrian government had been properly notified of the lawsuit brought in the 2004 executions of Eugene "Jack" Armstrong of Hillsdale, Mich., and Jack Hensley of Marietta, Ga. The two were in Iraq assisting the U.S. military. Syria was sued on grounds that it supported Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his terrorist organization, al Qaida in Iraq. Al-Zarqawi, who was killed by a U.S. airstrike in June 2006, is believed to have beheaded the two American contractors. Published: Tue, May 24, 2011