Egyptians shout slogans as they gather outside the the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Coptic Orthodox Church in Cairo's Abbasiya neighbourhood after it was targeted by a bomb explosion on December 11, 2016, (AFP PHOTO / MOHAMED METEAB)
The US State Department issued travel advisories for Jordan and Egypt on Friday, warning Americans against visiting the Mideast countries, amid ongoing threats posed by terror groups and recent attacks in both countries.
“The Department of State reminds US citizens that terrorist and extremist organizations have expressed a desire to conduct attacks targeting US citizens and Westerners in Jordan,” the travel warning said.
In Egypt, the State Department said that “terrorist attacks can occur anywhere in the country,” while noting a number of terror attacks including a suicide bombing at a church earlier this month that killed 25 people. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State.
The terror group also claimed an attack at a popular tourist destination in the Jordanian city of Karak, in which seven policemen, two civilians and a Canadian tourist were killed.
Jordanian security forces are seen patrolling on December 19, 2016 in Karak, a tourist destination, around 120 kilometres (70 miles) south of the capital Amman, following an attack a day earlier. (AFP/Khalil Mazraawi)
The shooting spree, home to one of the region’s biggest Crusader-era castles, also wounded 34 people, including a second Canadian. Jordanian authorities said four gunmen were shot dead by police during the course of a siege that lasted several hours.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
Jordan is part of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State Jordan and hosts coalition troops on its territory.
Agencies contributed to this report.
Advertisement
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
