Man shot dead after firing near Israel embassy in Jordan

AMMAN, Jordan -- A man was killed after opening fire on and wounding three members of the security forces near the Israeli embassy in the Jordanian capital Amman on Sunday, state media said.

Government spokesman Mohamed Momani described the incident as a "terrorist attack" and said the assailant was a criminal with a history of drug-related offenses.

Investigations were underway to uncover the circumstances and motives behind the attack, which occurred at dawn, he told the official Petra news agency.

The Public Security Directorate, Jordan's law enforcement agency, earlier reported an exchange of fire in the Amman district of Rabieh, where the Israeli embassy is located.

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The man "started firing gunshots at the security force, which in turn applied the rules of engagement, which resulted in the killing of the perpetrator", the agency added.

It said three public security personnel were injured during the incident and were receiving treatment.

Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, has maintained largely stable relations with its neighbor.

But the Rabieh district has been a focal point for protests against the Israeli embassy since Israel's war against the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas erupted in the Gaza Strip in October last year.

On October 18, two Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood members were killed in a firefight with Israeli forces near the Dead Sea.

And in September, a Jordanian truck driver shot dead three Israeli guards at the Allenby crossing between Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

© Agence France-Presse