Jordan ‘rioting’ overnight leaves one dead

AMMAN - Overnight riots in northern Jordan left one person dead and six others including policemen wounded when clashes broke out after a routine traffic stop, an official said Saturday.

The unrest erupted Friday evening after a security patrol stopped a vehicle in the northern province of Ajloun and the two passengers "refused" to show their identification, said Amer Sartawi, media spokesman for the kingdom's public security directorate.

"They called a group of their relatives... (who) came and attacked the patrol with stones," he said.

The security patrol fired tear gas to disperse the crowd and detained the two passengers, Sartawi said, adding that four officers were wounded.

Some of group then returned, "rioting, closing the main road, throwing stones at passing vehicles... and shooting with automatic weapons directly at the security forces", he said.

The group also torched a government vehicle and attacked the governor's residence, and used automatic weapons to fire on state buildings, he said.

Ambulances were dispatched shortly after to collect "two people wounded by unidentified gunfire", he said, adding that one later succumbed to his wounds.

Another man was wounded by gunfire to the stomach, he added.

Jordan's state television reported Saturday that "shooting had resumed" in the area and that some roads had been blocked with burning tyres.

The US embassy "strongly" advised its citizens to avoid the northern province due to the unrest.