The latest:
A member of Jordan’s security forces was killed and a colleague wounded in a stabbing on Amman’s Al-Madina Al-Munawwara Street Thursday afternoon, the Public Security Directorate said, with the attacker wounded, arrested and hospitalized. The directorate said initial investigations indicated he had planned the assault on its personnel. Reuters reported the attack took place near the Sri Lankan embassy.
Details:
- The victim: Official Jordanian broadcaster Al-Mamlaka named the slain officer as Jawad Ali Khalaf al-Sulaita, and said the attacker tried to seize his weapon. A second officer intervened at that point, and both that officer and the assailant were wounded in the struggle.
- The official framing: The Public Security Directorate said the attacker used a sharp instrument in what it described as a cowardly terrorist attack, and that preliminary findings showed he intended and planned a terrorist attack against its members. The directorate did not release his identity.
- The suspect: The attacker was previously accused of terrorism, according to reports, though no charge sheet or case details were made public. Jordan’s official news agency described the incident as a terrorist act. Authorities have not stated whether he acted alone or belonged to any organization.
- At the scene: A bag belonging to the attacker was found at the site, and bomb disposal teams were called in to confirm it contained no explosive device. The attack occurred opposite the Sri Lankan embassy, but no link has been established between the location and the assault.
- The church attack: On 23 October, gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak governorate. Reuters put the toll at nine killed and 40 wounded; other accounts cited at least 34 wounded. Witnesses said the attackers fired for several minutes before fleeing.
- The response then: The three church-shooting suspects were arrested three days later after an exchange of fire with security forces. Jordan subsequently struck targets in Syria linked to terrorist organizations the attackers were said to belong to. It remains unclear whether Thursday’s stabbing is connected.
- The king’s line: King Abdullah II said Monday that terrorists would not be allowed to threaten Jordan’s unity and security, speaking after the church attack prompted the Syria strikes. His remarks preceded Thursday’s stabbing by three days.
Background:
Jordan is unaccustomed to terrorist attacks, and the Karak church shooting — a rare assault on the country’s Christian minority — caused widespread shock. Thursday’s stabbing is the second attack on Jordanian soil in under two weeks.
Between the lines:
Two attacks in 13 days, one on worshippers and one on uniformed officers, have put Jordan’s security posture under visible strain. The bomb squad’s deployment over a single bag points to an assumption that a stabbing could be the opening move of something larger. Jordanian commentator Daham Mithqal al-Fawz wrote on X that an attack on the security forces is an attack on the entire nation, calling for strict enforcement of the law.
What’s next
Watch for the Public Security Directorate to release the attacker’s identity and any affiliation, for an official statement on whether the stabbing is linked to the Karak church shooting, and for results of the Turkish-Iranian border investigation.
