AN Iraqi court sentenced a nephew of deposed leader Saddam Hussein to 15 years in prison for illegally crossing the Syrian border, the US military said today. The sentence, handed down yesterday, comes on top of a six-year term given to Ayman Sabawi in September after he was found guilty of financing insurgents and making bombs, the military said. At that time, the Iraqi criminal court said Sabawi had been sentenced to life in prison.Ayman, the son of Saddam's half-brother Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hasan al-Tikriti, who also is in custody awaiting trial, first made the reference to the illegal border crossing during his September trial. He was captured in March near Saddam's hometown of Tikrit. In July, the United States froze Ayman's assets along with those of five other Saddam nephews, accusing them of funding the insurgents. The US accuses Ayman and family members of providing weapons, explosives and financial support to insurgents and using neighbouring Arab countries to plan and launch attacks.