Moroccan jailed for life over gas bottle attack

RABAT, July 10 (Reuters) - A Moroccan Islamist who tried to blow himself up near a bus full of tourists using a gas cylinder last year was jailed for life on Thursday, court officials said.

The butane bottle exploded a few metres (yards) from the bus in the centre of the northern city of Meknes, blowing off Hicham Doukali's left hand and breaking his leg.

No one else was hurt in the attack last August which raised fears for the tourism industry, the north African kingdom's biggest source of foreign currency.

The country was already on high alert after seven bombers blew themselves up in Casablanca in March and April, killing themselves and a police officer.

The state prosecutor said Doukali was caught "red handed" trying to attack the bus parked in the popular tourist spot of Place Lahdim, state news agency MAP reported.

Doukali, a 31-year-old engineer, argued that he was trying to commit suicide for personal reasons and said the man accused of being his accomplice, Hassan Azougar, knew nothing of any terrorist plot. Azougar was jailed for 10 years.

Both men were jailed by a court specialising in terrorism cases on charges including forming a criminal gang with the aim of committing terrorist acts and making explosives with intent to cause harm, MAP said. (Reporting by Tom Pfeiffer; Editing by Mariam Karouny)