3 terrorists, 4 security forces killed in Jordan shoot-out

King Abdullah: We will strike hard against radical Islamists

AMMAN (Reuters) – Security forces pulled the bodies of three suspected terrorists from the wreckage of a building in a central Jordanian city on Sunday, following a shoot-out in which at least four security personnel were also killed, the government said.

In a huge security operation, Jordanian forces laid siege to the building in a residential part of Salt on Saturday night in search of those responsible for a Friday bomb attack on a police van.

The police vehicle had been maintaining security near a music festival in the mostly Christian town of Fuhais, near the capital Amman and 15 kilometers from Salt.

Four security personnel were killed during the operation after the suspected terrorists sought sanctuary in the multi-story building in Salt, a hillside city, the government said.

The side of the building partially collapsed, possibly because of a blast from a suicide bomber inside, a security source said.

Security forces had seized automatic weapons in a “continuing operation,” government spokeswoman Jumana Ghunaimat told Reuters.

No group has claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack on the van in Fuhais in which one policeman was killed and six others were injured.

Terrorists from Islamic State and other radical jihadist groups have long targeted the US-allied Jordan, and dozens of terrorists are currently serving long prison terms.

King Abdullah II, an ally of Western powers against Islamist militancy who has also safeguarded Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel, has been among the most vocal leaders in the region in warning of threats posed by radical groups.

Chairing a meeting of the country’s national security council on Sunday, the monarch warned the perpetrators would pay dearly.

“We will fight the Khawarij and strike at them without mercy and with all strength and determination,” the monarch, a career soldier, was quoted as saying in a palace statement.

The monarch used the term used for radical groups, such as Islamic State, who declare Muslims they disagree with as apostates.

Officials have not formally disclosed the identity of the terrorists, but security officials say some evidence points to Islamic State-affiliated sleeper cells inside the kingdom.

Several incidents over the past few years have jolted Jordan, which has been comparatively unscathed by the uprisings, civil wars and Islamist militancy that have swept the Middle East since 2011.

It was not clear how many terrorists fled into the building, which is in a busy residential quarter of Salt. But five terrorists have now been rounded up in addition to three detained earlier, security sources said.

Part of the building was blown up by the terrorists, according to Ghunaimat, and a security source said it was believed a suicide bomber blew himself up and caused its partial collapse.

Ghunaimat had said earlier that search and rescue operations were being conducted to ensure no civilians were held hostage in what was left of the building. “The building in which the terrorist cell was found is about to fall and will be demolished to prevent a sudden collapse,” Ghunaimat said.

The shoot-out also injured at least 20 people, including women and children living in the area. They had been taken overnight to a main hospital in the capital, a medical source said.