Three Members of Terror Cell Killed in Jordan After Escape of Two

Members of the Jordanian security authorities in Amman (File Photo - Reuters)
Members of the Jordanian security authorities in Amman (File Photo - Reuters)
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Three Members of Terror Cell Killed in Jordan After Escape of Two

Members of the Jordanian security authorities in Amman (File Photo - Reuters)
Members of the Jordanian security authorities in Amman (File Photo - Reuters)

A statement released by the Jordanian Public Security Department, or PSD, following the killing of three wanted individuals, raised a plethora of questions regarding the existence of facilitations received by the inmates from inside the heavily fortified Muwaqqar Prison, located 45 kilometers east of Amman.

The statement indicated that the security forces identified the fugitives’ whereabouts, located hundreds of meters from the southeastern border strip of the kingdom in a highly rugged area.

Consequently, a specialized security unit was prepared and initiated a thorough search for them after they abandoned their escape vehicle and disappeared into the desert.

Once again, the case of “Al-Husseiniya terrorist cell” which was uncovered in December of 2022, takes the spotlight.

This comes after the killing of three wanted individuals, two of whom recently fled from prison under mysterious circumstances in an unprecedented escape operation.

They managed to flee from within one of the rehabilitation centers just days ago.

PSD said on Sunday that three men wanted on terrorism charges were killed in an exchange of fire with police on the kingdom’s southeastern borders.

PSD confirmed that two of the three men killed in a police shootout on Saturday were inmates who had recently escaped from a rehabilitation center.

All three are members of the “Al-Husseiniya cell,” which was involved in the killing of Col. Abdul Razzaq Al-Dalabeeh on Dec. 16 last year in the southern city of Maan, which was rocked by demonstrations against increasing fuel prices.

Exposing a terrorist cell with extremist ideology in Al-Husseiniya region of Maan Governorate, southern Jordan, in the final month of last year, raised concerns about the resurgence of this ideological movement and its dormant cells within the country.

These concerns were further heightened by the nature and details of the operation that was announced at the time, involving the killing of three members of the General Security Directorate at various ranks during a security raid targeting the “terrorist cell.”

The operation was carried out to apprehend the suspects involved in the killing of Al-Dalabeeh.



Qatar and Jordan Pledge Support to Syria

23 December 2024, Syria, Damascus: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi (L) meets with Syria's new de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. (Petra/dpa)
23 December 2024, Syria, Damascus: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi (L) meets with Syria's new de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. (Petra/dpa)
TT

Qatar and Jordan Pledge Support to Syria

23 December 2024, Syria, Damascus: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi (L) meets with Syria's new de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. (Petra/dpa)
23 December 2024, Syria, Damascus: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi (L) meets with Syria's new de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. (Petra/dpa)

Qatar is ready to invest in Syria's energy sector and ports, the de facto Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said after meeting a senior Qatari official in Damascus on Monday, as his new administration widened contacts with Arab states.

Sharaa also received Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi, the first Arab foreign minister to visit Damascus since the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) toppled Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago. Safadi said Jordan was ready to help Syria rebuild.

The meetings further widened the diplomatic contacts of the new administration established after Sharaa's HTS, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, led a decisive offensive that overthrew Assad after more than 13 years of war.

The end of Assad's rule has upended the geopolitics of the Middle East, dealing a major blow to his ally Iran and paving the way for other states to build new ties to a country at the crossroads of the region.

Türkiye, which long backed the Syrian opposition, was the first state to send its foreign minister to Damascus.

Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Al-Khulaifi flew into Damascus on Monday aboard the first Qatar Airways flight to land there since Assad was toppled.

Sharaa, speaking to reporters as he stood next to Khulaifi, said that they had discussed the challenges of the coming period, and that he had invited Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to visit Syria.

"The Qatari side expressed its readiness for wide investments in Syria in many sectors, chief amongst them the energy sector in which they have great experience ... as well as the ports and airports," Sharaa said.

Khulaifi said Qatar, the world's third largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), would continue to "stand alongside our brothers in Syria at this time more than any other time".

"Syria and its people need support during this crucial phase which requires the concerted efforts of everyone, especially concerning the lifting of sanctions and the upcoming developmental projects," he said.

JORDAN WILL PROVIDE AID

Syria's stability is a key security concern for Jordan, which borders the country to the south.

Safadi said he agreed with Sharaa on cooperating to counter the smuggling of drugs and weapons from Syria to Jordan - a problem for years under Assad.

Safadi also noted that ISIS, with which Sharaa's group clashed earlier in the Syrian war, remained a threat.

"Our brothers in Syria also realize that this is a threat. God willing, we will all cooperate, not just Jordan and Syria, but all Arab countries and the international community, in fighting this scourge that poses a threat to everyone," he said.

"I focused on reconstruction efforts and Jordan will provide aid," Safadi said, adding that the new Syrian administration must have the opportunity to develop its plans.

There was no immediate statement from the Syrian side on the meeting.

Sharaa, who met senior US diplomats last week, severed ties with Al-Qaeda in 2016. He has said his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development and that he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.