AMMAN, 2 MAR - Una ragazza giordana di 20 anni, condannata a morte per l'assassinio di due bambini, e' stataimpiccata due volte, dopo che al primo tentativo si era rotta la corda. Lo hanno annunciato oggi i responsabili della prigione di Amman.

Ittissam Hussein era stata condannata a morte lo scorso anno per aver ucciso nel 2002 i due fratellini di cinque e sei anni del suo fidanzato. La famiglia del ragazzo si opponeva al loro matrimonio.

L'esecuzione si e' svolta all'alba nella prigione di Swaka, nella parte meridionale della capitale, ma la corda si e' rotta al primo tentativo.

Le fonti hanno aggiunto che la donna e' scoppiata in singhiozzi ed e' rimasta in stato di shock. La legge giordana prevede che l'esecuzione debba avere luogo ''fino a che non intervenga la morte'' e quindi l'impiccagione e' stata ripetuta.

I responsabili della prigione hanno precisato che la morte della ragazza e' stata dichiarata 25 minuti dopo il secondo tentativo.

JORDAN: Child killer hanged twice after rope breaks

A Jordanian woman convicted of murdering 2 children was hanged twice today after the rope broke the 1st time because of her weight, police officials said.

I'tisam Hussein, 21, fell to the ground when the rope broke but did not fracture any bones, said one of the officials who attended the execution.

She was frightened and in pain, but was not given any sedatives, he told The Associated Press, on condition of anonymity.

The rope was changed and she was hanged within the hour, after a delay as prison wardens tried to calm her down.

Today's hanging took place in Swaqa Penitentiary, 100 km south of the Jordanian capital, Amman.

Hussein was found guilty in December 2002 of drowning two children in a canal near the biblical Jordan River. She was convicted of premeditated murder for the January 2002 murders and sentenced to death by hanging.

Court records showed Hussein was seeking vengeance against her fiance's family, who opposed their marriage. She coaxed her fiance's sister and brother -- aged 5 and 6 respectively -- to the canal, where she drowned them.

It was the 2nd strange hanging incident in Jordan since 1997, when the head of another woman convict split from her body during execution.