TUNIS (AP) -- A Tunisian court convicted nine men on terrorism charges Tuesday, sentencing them to between six and 12 years in prison, their lawyer said.

The men had been charged with membership in a terrorist organization, inciting terrorist acts and raising funds for terrorism, lawyer Samir Ben Amor said.
Six of the suspects were arrested after Tunisian authorities intercepted a letter from a Tunisian man in Iraq urging others travel to Algeria to train with an al-Qaida affiliated group.
The man who wrote the letter was killed in a 2005 suicide attack in Iraq. His brother was among those convicted Tuesday.
The three other suspects were arrested in Tunisia following a trip to Syria. They had not traveled to Iraq, Ben Amor said.
Tunisia, a secular Muslim nation, has recently cracked down on terror suspects. Last week, 26 people were convicted to between 3 and 15 years in prison for their involvement in a January clash between police and armed militants outside the capital, Tunis.