Several Wounded as Jordan Security Forces Raid Terrorist Cell in al-Salt

A Jordanian police officer. (AFP)
A Jordanian police officer. (AFP)
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Several Wounded as Jordan Security Forces Raid Terrorist Cell in al-Salt

A Jordanian police officer. (AFP)
A Jordanian police officer. (AFP)

Jordanian security forces carried out on Saturday a raid against a terrorist cell suspected of involvement in the al-Fuheis terrorist attack on Friday, reported the Petra news agency.

The security forces had moved in on al-Salt city to arrest the suspects behind the attack, but they refused to turn themselves over. A shootout soon ensued.

The terrorists had previously booby-trapped the building where they were fortified in and detonated it during the raid, leaving one member of the security forces dead and a number wounded.

Several civilians were also injured in the incident.

Three of the suspects were arrested.

One policeman was killed and six others wounded when a homemade explosives device went off near their van in al-Fuheis on Friday.

"This cowardly act will only increase the determination to do our job to protect people," the interior ministry statement said.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.