Five suspected terrorists arrested, three killed as security operation in Salt concludes

AMMAN — Minister of State for Media Affairs Jumana Ghunaimat on Sunday announced that the raid on the terrorist cell in Salt was concluded Sunday noon.

Ghunaimat, who is also the government spokesperson, added that the specialised security agencies were continuing efforts to survey the entire area surrounding the building that security departments demolished after it was blown up by the suspects and partially damaged. 

She added that life returned to normalcy in the area, according to a Prime Ministry’s statement.

The crackdown came in connection with the terrorist attack on a joint Gendarmerie-police patrol stationed in Fuheis on Friday.

The security operation resulted in four deaths among personnel of the joint security force that raided the area in Salt, Ghunaimat said, stressing that security agents arrested five terrorists and killed three others. 

The minister noted that the operation was based on accurate information and intelligence efforts, and was implemented through several phases with “professional planning and well-prepared steps”, so as to ensure the safety of citizens, especially sincethe operation was executed in a populated area. 

Ghunaimat offered her condolences to the families of the fallen officers who sacrificed their souls for the safety of the homeland and its residents.

She also praised the high level of coordination between security agencies, which “as usual, exhibited professionalism in dealing with security threats”. The minister expressed appreciation for citizens who showed a high level of responsibility and responded to the warnings of security departments.

The fourth security officer died of his wounds on Sunday.

The bodies of three suspected terrorists were picked up from the rubble of the building they were hiding in  after they detonated a bomb when they were cornered by security forces, Ghunaimat said earlier in the day. 

Dozens were injured, including civilians, in the raid following fierce resistance by the suspects who started shooting at the joint force that surrounded the building.

The minister added that a special team demolished the remaining parts of the building because it would have collapsed any minute and endangered the safety of people around it.

Meanwhile, the Royal Hashemite Court decided to fly the Jordanian flag at half-mast in memory of the martyrs killed in the cowardly terrorist act that targeted a security patrol in Fuheis and in the raid on the responsible terrorist cell in Salt.

Also on Sunday, Army Maj. Muath Damanieh, Corp. Hisham Aqarbeh and Lance Corp. Muhammad Bani Yassin of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army were laid to rest in their hometowns of Maan’s Jafr, Zarqa’s Mikman and Ajloun’s Rasoun, respectively, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Corp. Mohammad Hayajneh of the anti-terror unit was also laid to rest on Sunday in his hometown of Deir Al Saaneh in the Irbid governorate, some 80 km north of Amman, Petra added.

Prime Minister Omar Razzaz visited the house of condolences of Hayajneh and expressed his condolences to the family of the officer.

During a visit to the house of condolences of Bani Yassin, Razzaz and offered his sympathies to the fallen officer’s family. Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh and other officials also paid their respects. 

The premier stressed that the high level of alert of security agencies had played a role in limiting both the human and property losses, according to Petra.

Tarawneh also visited the house of condolences of Hayajneh and reiterated that the resilience of the Kingdom’s security and military apparatuses will defeat terrorism and uproot its followers.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Samir Mubaidin, Ghunaimat, Gendarmerie Department Director Maj. Gen. Hussein Hawatmeh and Public Security Department Director Maj. Gen. Fadel Hmoud are scheduled to hold a press conference on Monday at 11:30am at the Gendarmerie Department’s headquarters to speak about updates on the security conditions in the Kingdom, Petra reported. 

Razzaz also visited the house of condolences of Ali Qoqazeh who died in the Fuheis incident, while Tarawneh visited the house of condolences of Aqarbeh, Petra added.