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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Canadian tourist among seven dead in Jordan attacks |
| 2016-12-19 |
| Who the hell says, "Oh, the Levant is lovely this time of year. Let's go for a visit!" [Dhaka Tribune] Gunmen killed seven people including a Canadian tourist and coppers Sunday in a city in southern Jordan where security forces were hunting down the unidentified attackers. The shootings took place in Karak, a tourist destination known for one of the biggest Crusader castles in the region, around 120 kilometres south of the capital Amman. Jordan’s general security department said four coppers, a female Canadian tourist and two Jordanian non-combatants were killed in a series of shootings. Several others were reported maimed. The first attack took place when a police patrol went to check on a fire that broke out in a house in Karak, the department said. "As soon as they reached the area, unknown gunnies who were inside the house opened fire on the patrol, wounding a policeman, and then fled by car," it said in a statement carried by the official Petra news agency. "Shortly afterwards, gunnies opened fire on another patrol without causing any casualties," it added. Additional information from Al Jazeera: A senior security source said some people were trapped in a lower floor of the citadel when the assailants took shelter there, but denied media reports that they were being held hostage. "There are no hostages. But some people who were on a lower floor were afraid of leaving as the gunmen traded fire with the security forces," said the source who did not wish to be identified. He said that the fighters were on a higher level inside the fortress. The Jordan Tourism Board described the Karak citadel, which dates back to the 12th century and has withstood many sieges, as a "maze of stone-vaulted halls and endless passageways". The general security department statement said "five or six gunmen" were thought to have been involved in the shootings. However, Hani al-Mulki, Jordan's prime minister, who was addressing parliament at the time of the shootings, said that "special forces and policemen are surrounding 10 gunmen holed up inside the Karak citadel". It was not immediately clear who was behind the shootings. Witnesses posted purported amateur videos and images of the incidents on social media. |
| Posted by:Fred |