Jordanian policeman shoots dead two Americans, three others

A Jordanian police officer has shot dead two US government contractors, a South African trainer and two Jordanians at a US-funded police training facility near Jordan’s capital Amman before being killed in a shootout.

At least four other people, including two more Americans, sustained injuries in the Monday attack at the King Abdullah II bin al-Hussein Training City east of Amman, security sources said, adding that the killed Jordanians were a translator and a police officer.

A US official said that the two Americans were working with the US State Department's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau and were responsible for training Palestinian forces.

US President Barack Obama said following the raid that he was treating it very seriously.

"The fact that someone dressed in military uniform carried out an attack at a training facility in (Jordan)... we take this very seriously, and we'll be working closely with the Jordanians to determine exactly what happened," Obama told reporters at the White House.

The US embassy in Amman also denounced the attack in a statement, declining to comment on the assailant’s motive.

“The investigation is ongoing and it is premature to speculate on motive at this point," the statement said, adding, "We are working closely with the government of Jordan and local security services on a full and comprehensive investigation."

Jordan’s King Abdullah II visited those injured in the deadly incident at the King Hussein medical center in west Amman.

The police training facility is said to be used to train Iraqi and Palestinian security forces. American contractors are reportedly sent there to help Jordanian instructors.

Jordan is a key ally of the United States in the Middle East as well as an active part of the so-called US-led coalition against the Daesh Takfiri terror group. The US uses Jordanian airfields to station fighter jets for its military campaign in Syria. 

The US and its allies have been conducting airstrikes against alleged Daesh extremists inside Syria without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate since September last year.

Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011, hundreds of Jordanians have reportedly joined terrorist groups in the Arab country to fight against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Jordan also hosts hundreds of American military personnel as part of a program to allegedly reinforce the kingdom’s defense.

The Monday shooting happened on the 10th anniversary of bombing attacks by al-Qaeda on three hotels in Amman, which killed some 60 people. 

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