ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kingdom of Jordan’s security forces announced on Wednesday that they had successfully prevented a plot by Islamic State (ISIS) to blow up military and civilian targets in the kingdom.
“After diligent and detailed intelligence gathering the intelligence department was able soon to thwart a criminal and destructive plot linked by the terrorist Daesh [ISIS] group aimed at destabilizing national security,” a security forces statement read according to Reuters.
The security forces had tracked the militants down in the kingdoms northern city of Irbid near the Syrian border on Tuesday. The group possessed suicide belts, explosives and automatic weapons.
Attempts to arrest them saw a gunfight ensue which lasted until dawn. Seven of the militants were killed along with one of the police officers and injured five others. Dozens of special forces were reportedly involved in the operation.
“They showed heavy resistance with automatic weapons and so the security forces dealt with the situation with the necessary force,” the statement added.
The militants were located near a Palestinian refugee camp which itself was located near the center of Irbid. Jordan’s Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said the operation was a success. The group based in Jordan had reached out to ISIS and established ties with them before planning its attacks.
Jordan has cracked down hard on suspected ISIS cells as well as ISIS sympathizers in the kingdom. The stability of Jordan has been of concern to the US and its allies given its strategically important location. Israel, fearing the potential of ISIS militants entering Jordan from Syria donated some of its older Cobra gunships to Amman last year to help bolster its armed forces.
The US has also pledged more aid to Amman to help it deal with the large numbers of Syrian refugees it hosts.
“After diligent and detailed intelligence gathering the intelligence department was able soon to thwart a criminal and destructive plot linked by the terrorist Daesh [ISIS] group aimed at destabilizing national security,” a security forces statement read according to Reuters.
The security forces had tracked the militants down in the kingdoms northern city of Irbid near the Syrian border on Tuesday. The group possessed suicide belts, explosives and automatic weapons.
Attempts to arrest them saw a gunfight ensue which lasted until dawn. Seven of the militants were killed along with one of the police officers and injured five others. Dozens of special forces were reportedly involved in the operation.
“They showed heavy resistance with automatic weapons and so the security forces dealt with the situation with the necessary force,” the statement added.
The militants were located near a Palestinian refugee camp which itself was located near the center of Irbid. Jordan’s Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said the operation was a success. The group based in Jordan had reached out to ISIS and established ties with them before planning its attacks.
Jordan has cracked down hard on suspected ISIS cells as well as ISIS sympathizers in the kingdom. The stability of Jordan has been of concern to the US and its allies given its strategically important location. Israel, fearing the potential of ISIS militants entering Jordan from Syria donated some of its older Cobra gunships to Amman last year to help bolster its armed forces.
The US has also pledged more aid to Amman to help it deal with the large numbers of Syrian refugees it hosts.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment