Officer killed, MPs survive attempted attack in Maan

AMMAN — Police on Sunday said they were searching for unidentified assailants who reportedly shot and killed an on duty Gendarmerie officer in Maan earlier in the day.

Also on Sunday, a man was arrested for attempting to attack lawmakers with a homemade bomb, which did not detonate. 

Second Lieutenant Nart Nafesh, 23, was part of a patrol that was guarding a post in the city of Maan, some 220km south of Amman, when a group of suspects opened fire with machine guns at 4:45am on Sunday, Gendarmerie Public Relations Department Director Lt. Col. Ahmad Abu Hammad said.

“Nafesh was struck by a bullet and was rushed to Maan Government Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival,” Abu Hammad told The Jordan Times.

No one else was injured in the shooting, the officer told The Jordan Times.

The officer was laid to rest later in the day, with Interior Minister Hussein Majali attending on behalf of His Majesty King Abdullah.

A committee was formed to investigate the incident and “arrest the perpetrators”, according to an official statement issued by the press office of the Gendarmerie Forces.

A close relative of the deceased officer told The Jordan Times that Nafesh graduated last year from Mutah University. 

“He was hit in the chest and died before reaching hospital,” the relative said.

Over the past few months, several instances of unrest have been recorded in Maan following the death of one person and the injury of a dozen others during police raids to detain wanted persons.

Attempted attack on mediating MPs

Police arrested a suspect who allegedly attempted to attack MPs including Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh, who were in Maan to mediate between authorities and residents after several months of tension, Tarawneh told The Jordan Times.

According to several sources, the bomb did not detonate. No further details were available on the motives of the planned attack or the identity of the suspect. 

The violence in the desert town of around 80,000, and police measures to round up suspects, have caused friction between the government and local community leaders, who accuse authorities of using excessive force in the hunt. 

MP Khalil Attiyeh told The Jordan Times over the phone that the House delegation, which has been involved in a series of discussions with stakeholders to settle the Maan issue, was on its way back to Amman.