Irbid

Jordan Forces Battle Outlaws in Irbid

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• published: 02 Mar 2016
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Jordanian security forces engaged outlaws in the northern city of Irbid, three members of the security forces had been injured. and some fighters had been killed and injured. Early Official reports said. Heavy gunfire could be heard in videos purportedly from the scene published by local media. Some officials and local media described the gunmen as "extremists" but it is not clear whether any organised group is behind the incident. Riot police and special forces took part in the operation, which a security official described as one of the largest sweeps against sleeper cells of sympathizers in recent years. Another security source said the troops and helicopters were deployed mainly in a Palestinian refugee camp in the heart of the city where most of the wanted fugitives were holed up. Jordan did not confirm the targets but said security forces had killed a number of "fugitive outlaws" and wounded several others. State television quoted officials as saying the operation was continuing in the city, some 20 km south of the border. Jordan has long been vigilant about the risk of militant strikes in a country that has sustained attacks before, notably bombings on Amman hotels by al Qaeda-linked militants during the U.S. occupation of Iraq. And since the civil war erupted in Syria in 2011, hundreds of Jordanians have joined militant groups fighting in the insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.