Jordanian Police Arrest 97 Fugitives, Racketeering Suspects

Jordanian security vehicles seen near the General Intelligence directorate offices, north of Amman, Jordan, June 6, 2016. Reuters.
Jordanian security vehicles seen near the General Intelligence directorate offices, north of Amman, Jordan, June 6, 2016. Reuters.
TT

Jordanian Police Arrest 97 Fugitives, Racketeering Suspects

Jordanian security vehicles seen near the General Intelligence directorate offices, north of Amman, Jordan, June 6, 2016. Reuters.
Jordanian security vehicles seen near the General Intelligence directorate offices, north of Amman, Jordan, June 6, 2016. Reuters.

A Jordanian security source said 97 fugitives and suspected racketeers were arrested on Saturday by a police commando force.

The raid came after the Public Security Department (PSD) had launched a crackdown on "wanted fugitives, recidivists, racketeers and those who intimidate citizens," the source added.

A PSD spokesman said among those apprehended five are placed on a most-wanted list.

He also stressed that the clampdown will continue across the Kingdom "until all wanted and suspected persons are nabbed."

Last week, a 16-year-old’s hands were chopped off and his eyes gouged out by a gang of men in Jordan's Zarqa city, causing shock and widespread anger in the country.

The special police taskforce said it has arrested 10 suspects involved in the crime.

For his part, the prosecutor of the Criminal Court ensured that the perpetrators will receive the maximum punishment enshrined in the law.



Israeli Airstrike Targets Hezbollah Weapons Facility in Syria

This picture shows a crater caused by an Israeli strike on the road leading to Syria's Jousieh border crossing with Lebanon on October 28, 2024. (AFP)
This picture shows a crater caused by an Israeli strike on the road leading to Syria's Jousieh border crossing with Lebanon on October 28, 2024. (AFP)
TT

Israeli Airstrike Targets Hezbollah Weapons Facility in Syria

This picture shows a crater caused by an Israeli strike on the road leading to Syria's Jousieh border crossing with Lebanon on October 28, 2024. (AFP)
This picture shows a crater caused by an Israeli strike on the road leading to Syria's Jousieh border crossing with Lebanon on October 28, 2024. (AFP)

The Israeli military said it conducted an airstrike on a Hezbollah weapons storage facility in Syria on Tuesday.

The military said the strike targeted the facility run by Hezbollah’s munitions unit in the Syrian town of al-Qusayr, near the border with Lebanon. It said Hezbollah had recently expanded its facilities in the area to step up weapons smuggling into Lebanon from Syria.

The strikes hit an industrial zone in al-Qusayr, according to Syrian state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a conflict-monitoring group. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria over recent years, primarily targeting government-controlled areas, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses these operations. The strikes often target Syrian forces or Iranian-backed groups.

On Monday, an Israeli airstrike struck near the Sayida Zeinab suburb, south of Damascus, an area where Iran-backed groups are active. The Israeli military claimed responsibility for killing the head of Hezbollah’s military branch in Syria, whom it identified as Mahmoud Mohammed Shaheen.

For the past month, Israel has been carrying out an escalated bombardment campaign in Lebanon, aiming to cripple the Hezbollah armed group, which is allied with Syria and Iran. Israel has also launched ground incursions just across the Israel-Lebanon border, saying it aims to put an end to a year of Hezbollah rocket fire into northern Israel.