From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
Jordanian police find explosives in Amman that are allegedly part of Iran-linked plot
AMMAN, Jordan — Jordanian security forces say they uncovered and detonated explosives hidden in a commercial warehouse in an industrial area southeast of the capital Amman that security sources say are part of an Iran-linked plot to destabilize a key US ally.
Witnesses earlier said security forces had sealed the Abu Alanda area in a wide scale security operation two days after authorities announced they had detonated explosives uncovered in another location in the capital.
The authorities say the explosives found Monday were hidden by the same group of suspects who stored the explosives uncovered on Saturday in a crowded residential area close to a military airport used by US army planes.
The authorities, who have not disclosed who was behind the storing of munitions or whether arrests have been made, say they will reveal details once the investigations are completed.
Over the past year, Jordan has said it has foiled many attempts to smuggle weapons by infiltrators linked to pro-Iranian militias in Syria, who it says have crossed its borders with rocket launchers and explosives, adding that some of the weapons managed to get through undetected.
Iran has denied being behind such attempts.
Security sources say some of the arms are bound for the neighboring Israeli-controlled West Bank, adding that they have arrested several Jordanians linked to Palestinian terrorists.
Security officials say the incidents are terror-related based on the quantities of explosives found. They say it is linked to Iran’s clandestine efforts to recruit agents to undertake sabotage acts within the kingdom to destabilize a key ally of Washington in the region.
