Five mortar shells fall in Ramtha; none hurt

RAMTHA – Five mortar shells flying from war-torn Syria fell on Saturday on the border city of Ramtha but no injuries were reported, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The director of Ramtha police, Brig. Gen. Ammar Qudah, said three shells fell on houses in Ramtha northern district, some 90 kilometres from Amman on the border with Syria's Daraa.

He added that no one was injured by the stray bombshells which, he said, caused panic. Another two fell late during the day near a mosque and a field in the town, he said.

In June last year, one person was killed and four others injured after “a stray bomb shell” from Syria's Daraa town hit a Ramtha house.

Residents of the border town, just a few kilometres from the Syrian border, said they have had “sleepless nights” over the past few days due to the proximity of the intense clashes between the Syrian army and the armed opposition near the border.

On Saturday, King’s Military Adviser and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben paid a visit to Border Guard units deployed on the northern border, Petra reported.

Zaben, who also checked on the troops at the Ramtha and Jaber border crossings with Syria, was briefed on the Border Guards’ plans in place to deal with any security incidents there, Petra said.