Seven die in siege of militants’ tower block hideout
JORDANIAN search teams have pulled the bodies of three suspected militants from the rubble of their hideout, a government official said.
The search came hours after militants opened fire and set off explosions that killed four members of the security forces trying to storm the building.
The clash late on Saturday was among the deadliest between militants and Jordanian security forces in recent years.
It raised new concerns about attempts by domestic and foreign militants to carry out attacks in an attempt to destabilise the pro-western kingdom.
Jordan has played a key role in an international military coalition that helped push back the extremist group Islamic State in neighbouring Syria and Iraq.
The clash in Jordan began on Friday when the militants detonated a homemade bomb under a police vehicle guarding a music festival in the predominantly Christian town of Fuheis, west of Jordan’s capital of Amman.
The blast, labelled a terrorist attack by Jordan’s prime minister, killed a police officer.
Authorities did not say what motivated the attack and there was no claim of responsibility.
Security forces pursuing the suspects zeroed in on a multi-story building in the town of Salt, near Fuheis, and tried to storm it late on Saturday.
The suspects holed up inside opened fire and set off powerful explosions, collapsing a wing of the building.
Government spokeswoman Jumana Ghunaimat said three members of the security forces were killed.
“The suspects refused to surrender and opened heavy fire toward a joint security force,” she said in a statement. “The operation is still ongoing with thoughtful steps to make sure that no civilians are threatened.”
She said yesterday that a fourth officer had died and that the bodies of three suspects had been pulled from the rubble. Five suspects are in custody.
The building partially collapsed after the suspects detonated explosives during the raid.
The Hala Akhbar news website linked to Jordan’s military said the suspects are Jordanians and that the cell had planned to attack security installations and other sensitive targets.