Al-Rawabdeh announces arrest of 13 persons planning acts of destruction in Jordan
Jordan, Politics, 12/16/1999

The Jordanian government on Wednesday announced the arrest of 13 persons, including 11 Jordanians, one Algerian and one Iraqi close to Osama Bin Laden, an extremist businessman who has been deprived of his Saudi citizenship. The 13 are suspected of planning military operations targeting Jordanian and US factories in Jordan.

In a session of the Jordanian Parliament held on Wednesday, al-Rawabdeh stated that the authorities arrested a group that had been "trained in weapons and explosives inside camps in Afghanistan, and most of them entered the kingdom using false travel documents."

He stated that, "Members of the group were arrested in the early stages of their plans to carry out terrorist operations in the Jordanian arena," adding that, "Three members belonging to the group are still fleeing outside the country."

A well-informed Jordanian source said in Amman on Wednesday that members of the group were arrested this week in the international airport of Queen Alia in Amman upon their arrival from Afghanistan and that they were using false passports. The source stated that many of them are followers of Osama Bin Laden and that they received training on use of weapons and explosives in the Afghan territories in preparation for carrying out operations targeting US establishments in Jordan.

The well-informed Jordanian source said that four members of the group were previously convicted of being members of illegal extremist groups in Jordan and were released in a general pardon.

Previous Stories:
  Jordanian Muslim Brothers confirm resignations over Hamas issue   (12/7/1999)
  Attack against Israel's embassy in Amman   (11/24/1999)
  On the expulsion of the four Hamas leaders   (11/22/1999)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search