AMMAN: Five men arrested after a gun battle during a security raid in the Jordanian town of Salt were charged on Wednesday with terrorism offenses.
The prosecutor at Jordan’s state security court accused them of conspiracy to carry out terrorist acts, possession and manufacture of explosives for use in illegal activities, and the possession of weapons and ammunition for use in illegal activities. They face the death penalty if convicted.
Three militants and four members of Jordan’s security forces were killed in the raid on Saturday, which followed a bomb blast on Friday that killed a police officer and injured six people at a music festival in a nearby town.
Interior Minister Samir Mubaideen said Monday that the militants supported the Daesh group and “followed its takfiri (Sunni Muslim extremist) ideology.
The militants were holed up in an apartment in a four-story residential block in Salt.
They blew up the apartment as security forces encircled them and exchanged heavy fire. The building was later demolished. Ten people were wounded during the raid, including members of the security forces and residents of the building used as a hideout.
Jordan has been the target of several attacks by terrorist groups. Ten people died in a shooting rampage by Daesh militants in Karak in 2016.
