Security officer killed in stabbing attack in Jordan’s capital

A security officer was killed and another was injured in a stabbing attack in Jordan’s capital, Amman, on Thursday, November 5, according to Jordanian authorities and state media. The assailant was also wounded and was arrested following the attack. Authorities began investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said a member of its forces died after being assaulted with a sharp object. The directorate described the killing as a terrorist attack. Its initial account identified the victim as a member of the security forces, while state television provided further details about the confrontation involving the attacker and the two officers.

The state-run Al-Mamlaka television channel reported that the assailant tried to take the weapon belonging to the officer who was killed. A second security officer stepped in to stop the attacker, the broadcaster said. Both that officer and the assailant sustained injuries during the incident, according to its report, which also said the attacker had been arrested.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Amman reported that the wounded officer and the injured assailant were transported to hospital after the attack. The correspondent also reported that authorities had begun examining the circumstances of the incident. The account did not establish a connection between the stabbing and the earlier deadly violence in southern Jordan.

In a statement on its preliminary investigation, the Public Security Directorate said its findings indicated that the attacker had planned an act of terrorism against officers of the General Security Directorate. That assessment formed part of the authorities’ initial investigation into the assault.

The Sri Lankan Embassy in Amman said the stabbing occurred in its vicinity, according to the Associated Press news agency. The embassy’s account placed the incident near its premises in the Jordanian capital.

The stabbing followed a shooting at a church in southern Jordan several weeks earlier. Gunmen opened fire during a funeral, killing nine people and wounding dozens more. It was not immediately clear whether Thursday’s attack was linked to that shooting.

The church attack prompted Jordanian strikes in Syria. Speaking on Monday after the church killings, Jordan’s King Abdullah said that terrorists would not be permitted to threaten the country’s unity and security.