5 Jordan intel agents killed in ‘ terror attack’

Baqqa ( Jordan), June 6: A gunman apparently acting alone killed five Jordanian intelligence agents on Monday in a daylight “terrorist attack” on their office in a Palestinian refugee camp north of the capital.

Jordan is a leading member of the US- led coalition fighting ISIS in neighbouring Iraq and Syria, and has been the target of jihadist attacks in the past.

“The intelligence agency office in the Baqaa camp was the target of a cowardly attack shortly before 0400 GMT today that left five agents dead,” government spokesman Mohammed Momani said. Mr Momani said security forces were investigating who was responsible for the “terrorist attack” on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramzan.

A security source said that preliminary findings suggested the attack was carried out by a lone gunman who opened fire with an automatic weapon before escaping. The shooting happened as the team members were starting their shift.

It was unclear whether the gunman was a

Jordan is a leading member of the US- led coalition fighting ISIS in neighbouring Iraq and Syria, and has been the target of jihadist attacks in the past camp resident or an outsider, the source said, adding that experts were poring over CCTV footage for more clues.

Jordan has seen spillover from the conflicts in Iraq and Syria in the past.

In December 2005, suicide attacks on three Amman hotels claimed by Al Qaeda in Iraq killed 60 people and wounded dozens.

The Baqaa camp, where Monday’s attack took place, is 20 km from central Amman and is the largest of the kingdom’s 10 official Palestinian refugee camps.

Former MP Mahmud al- Kharabsha said what happened in Baqaa had been “expected”. “What happened was expected. Jordan is in the midst of a cyclone and shares long borders with Syria and Iraq,” he said.