4 Jordan policemen killed in clashes with gunmen

Four Jordanian policemen were killed during clashes with militants during a raid on a village near the southern city of Karak, a security source said.

The clashes had erupted earlier in a village north of the city of Karak, where two days earlier four gunmen killed 10 people in a shootout

A Jordanian police source said Tuesday’s clashes took place in a house where suspects linked to the four militants involved in the castle bloodshed were believed to be sheltering.

At least 11 people, mostly security personnel, were wounded in the clashes that were continuing in the village of al Waysa, a security source said.

Police said late on Sunday they had killed four “terrorist outlaws” after flushing them out of the castle where they were holed up after an exchange of fire that lasted several hours. Security forces were able to release around 10 tourists unharmed. At least 30 people were taken to hospital.

Security forces then launched a widescale manhunt to track down the militants’ support network.

Jordanian officials have not publicly confirmed whether the four slain gunmen were militants. But they said that a large cache of weapons, ammunitions and several suicide belts were discovered in a hideout in a home in the desert town of Qatranah, 30 km (20 miles) northeast of Karak.

Security sources said the gunmen were all Jordanian nationals.