Suspect arrested over Jordan ‘terror attack’

A suspect has been arrested for allegedly carrying out a gun attack on Monday that killed five Jordanian intelligence agents at their office at a Palestinian refugee camp, an official said.

Government spokesman Mohammed Momani announced the arrest without identifying the accused, adding: “Investigations are under way but early indications are that this was an isolated act.”

The gunman struck at Baqaa camp north of the capital early Monday, the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in what Momani called a “terrorist attack”.

A security source told AFP the suspect was arrested at a mosque in the Salt region north of Amman.

The suspect was armed and resisted arrest, the source said, adding that a police officer had been injured in the swoop.

Jordan is a leading member of the US-led coalition fighting ISIS in neighboring Iraq and Syria, and has been the target of attacks.

The Baqaa camp is 20 kilometres (12 miles) from central Amman and is the largest of the kingdom’s 10 official Palestinian refugee camps.

Baqaa houses about 220,000 people, including more than 100,000 of the two million Palestinian refugees who live in Jordan.