Three killed in gun battle with police in Jordan after manhunt for escaped prisoners

Jordanian security forces pictured in 2016. AFP.

Two men who escaped from prison and a third man were shot dead by police following a manhunt in a remote part of Jordan, authorities said on Sunday.

The Public Security Directorate said that the men were tracked down by police in rugged desert terrain and resisted arrest, sparking a gun battle. Authorities said one of the suspects was linked to a militant group.

Security forces "surrounded the fugitives and applied the rules of engagement against them after they opened fire on the force with automatic firearms," the police statement said, according to Jordan's state-linked Petra news agency. Jordan's Public Security Directorate is a branch of the Ministry of Interior, in charge of policing within the kingdom.

One of the two escaped inmates was convicted in the 2022 killing of a senior police officer, authorities said.

The officer, Abdul Razzaq Abdel Hafez Al Dalabeh, was killed during clashes with protesters that broke out over high fuel prices. Three additional officers were killed while trying to arrest suspects in connection with Al Dalabeh's death.

A statement by the directorate said Saturday's shoot-out took place in a rugged area in the kingdom's south-east. It said authorities were investigating how the two men had escaped from prison.

The region where Al Dalabeh was killed is an impoverished and marginalised area of the country with high unemployment. In the past, there were expressions of support for ISIS in the area.

Last year saw some of the worst unrest Jordan has experienced in recent years after lorry drivers launched a strike over soaring fuel prices. Strikes and protests spread to several cities across Jordan and demonstrators clashed with police last Thursday.

Jordan is a close western ally and has long been seen as an island of stability in a turbulent region.