Foreign trainers killed in shooting attack at police training camp in Jordan 

Jordanian police officer fired shots at the training camp east of the Jordanian capital, killing 4 people, including 2 Americans and a South African 
The camp is used to train police officers from Iraq, Palestine and Libya (AFP) 

Monday 9 November 2015

Four people, including two US trainers and a South African, were killed on Monday after shots were fired at a police training camp in Amman, the capital of Jordan.

Six people were also injured in the incident, four of them Jordanian and two US citizens, Sky News Arabia reported. 

A security source told Sky News Arabia that the shooter, a Jordanian police officer, committed suicide following the outbreak of gunfire, suggesting that the incident may have been intentional.

However, details were sketchy amid conflicting statements from Jordanian officials.

The government's official spokesperson, Mohammed al-Mumini, said in a statement that Jordanian police had killed the attacker in the wake of the shooting, and were now investigating the motives behind the attack.

A government-run newspaper, al-Rai, quoted sources who named a suspect as Anwar Bani Abdo, a veteran police captain who had previously served with the criminal investigation unit and the security forces before being transferred to the camp for further training.

ِAccording to the source, the captain had asked to be exempted from service a few weeks prior to the shooting, although no further details were given.

The newspaper also gave details of the man's family life and named the small town where the suspect reportedly lived.

The US embassy in Amman told Middle East Eye they had "received reports of a security incident" at the camp.

"We are in contact with the Jordanian authorities, who have offered their full support."

Monday's shooting, which occurred on the 10th anniversary of three co-ordinated al-Qaeda attacks that targeted hotels in Amman, happened at a training centre in Muaqar on the eastern outskirts of the capital.

The camp is a US-funded facility that has been used to train Palestinian security forces working with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

From its inauguration in 2003 until 2005 the camp was used to train upwards of 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and police officers.

The camp has also been used to train Libyan operatives. In 2012 Libyans who were part of a group of 1,200 trainees broke windows and uprooted trees at the camp in protest at conditions, which included not being allowed to leave the complex without special written permission.

In 2014 the facility was chosen as the site for a new training programme for the Iraqi special forces, with a US source saying that Jordan was chosen as a location for the programme due to it being close to Iraq, as well as existing legal agreements allowing US programmes to operate there.

The same source said up to 1,000 US operatives were present in Jordan, most of them members of the naval infantry brigades specialising in anti-terrorism and urban warfare.

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