A gun battle in Jordan on Monday left dead three security force members and a man wanted for the killing of a senior police officer during protests last week, authorities said.
Strikes and protests against rising fuel prices have rocked several southern provinces in recent days and led to clashes with security forces.
The deputy police chief of Maan province, Colonel Abdul Razzaq Dalabeh, died Thursday of a gunshot to the head during what authorities called “riots” in the town of Al-Husseiniya.
The suspect in Dalabeh’s shooting death was killed in a raid by forces on Al-Husseiniya, about 150 kilometres (90 miles) south of the capital Amman, the country’s security agency said in a statement.
The agency described the suspect, who has not been named, as “ascribing to takfiri ideology”, referring to Sunni Muslim extremism.
He opened fire after forces had surrounded his family home in Al-Husseiniya, the security agency said, and along with other suspects killed three officers before being shot dead himself.
“The Public Security Directorate mourns the martyrdom of three of its members… during a raid on a terror cell” that has also wounded five officers, it added.
Nine other suspects, four of whom are related, were arrested in the raid and some weapons seized, the statement said.
– ‘Iron fist’ –
Jordan’s King Abdullah II in a Friday statement extended his condolences to Dalabeh’s family and vowed to bring “the criminal” shooter to justice.
According to the Public Security Directorate, at least 49 members of the security forces have been wounded in the recent wave of protests, and it vowed Friday to respond to the unrest “with an iron fist”.
On Saturday, the security agency said it had arrested 44 people “who participated in the riots in a number of regions”.
Cab and truck drivers in several southern provinces began strike actions more than a week ago, along with mostly peaceful demonstrations.
They were joined by bus drivers, and merchants who closed their shops on Wednesday to protest higher fuel costs.
Protests broke out last week when demonstrators blocked roads with burning tyres and confronted security forces in some areas.
Fuel prices have nearly doubled in Jordan from a year earlier, particularly the diesel used by trucks and buses, and kerosene for heating.
The government has proposed relief measures including financial aid for the most affected families.
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