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Militant attack kills 10, injures 27 in central Jordan

Sunday, 18 December 2016 4:34 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 18 December 2016 7:30 PM ]

Ambulances are seen in front of the Italian hospital where some of the injured were evacuated to after an attack, in the city of Karak, Jordan, December 18, 2016. (Photo by Reuters)

At least ten people, including a Canadian woman, have lost their lives when unidentified armed men attacked a police station and patrols in Jordan’s central province of Karak, and opened fire.

A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the assault took place in the mountainous city of Karak, situated 140 kilometers south of the capital Amman, when unknown gunmen fired at security personnel in a shooting spree.

The assailants later holed themselves up inside a Crusader-era castle perched on top of a hill, and started firing at police forces. The identities of the assailants were not immediately clear.

Police have managed to free 10 people, including foreign tourists, but some are still being held in the castle.

The General Security Directorate said in a statement that seven of the deceased were policemen, two were Jordanian civilians and one was a Canadian tourist. Some 27 people, including policemen, also sustained injuries in the act of violence.

Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki told the parliament that “a number of security personnel” had been killed and that security forces were laying siege to the castle.

The Canadian government later confirmed that one of its nationals had been killed as a result of the violence.

On November 7, three US soldiers were killed when unknown gunmen fired shots at a car carrying the Americans at the entrance to al-Jafr military base near the southern Jordanian town of Mann. A Jordanian officer was also wounded.

The slain American service members were reportedly in Jordan on a training mission.

Jordan is a major US ally in the Middle East region, and a member of the so-called US-led military coalition against Daesh terrorist group.

This while many Jordanians oppose their country's involvement in the US-led airstrikes against purported Daesh positions in neighboring Iraq and Syria, arguing they have targeted civilians and raised security threats inside Jordan.

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