Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
International

Islamic State Claims Responsibility For Jordan Attack That Killed Canadian

The Canadian Press, 20 Dec, 2016 12:22 PM
    AMMAN, Jordan — The extremist Islamic State group claimed responsibility Tuesday for a series of shooting attacks on police and tourists in Jordan that killed 10 people, including a woman from Canada.
     
    Sunday's shootings were the bloodiest in Jordan in recent memory and raised new concerns about the rise of Islamic militancy in the pro-Western kingdom.
     
    Jordan plays a key role in the U.S.-led military campaign against the Islamic State group, which seized large areas in neighbouring Iraq and Syria in 2014 and proclaimed a "caliphate" there.
     
    The shootings took place in the central Jordanian town of Karak.
     
    Linda Vatcher, a 62-year-old from Newfoundland, was among those killed in the attack. She had recently travelled to the Middle East to spend Christmas with her son, Chris, who was reportedly working as a teacher in the region.
     
    The mother and son were visiting a Crusader castle popular with tourists in Karak when gunmen assaulted Jordanian police in a series of attacks. Christopher Vatcher was said to have jaw injuries, and was being treated at a hospital in the Jordanian capital of Amman.
     
    Four gunmen were shot and killed by Jordanian security forces during the standoff at Karak Castle.
     
    The Islamic State group's claim of responsibility for the attack was published Tuesday on "Shumoukh al-Islam," a password-protected website affiliated with the extremist group.
     
    The statement said that "four soldiers of the caliphate" armed with machine-guns and hand grenades carried out the attacks, killing 10 "apostates." It said the four fighters were engaged in "fierce clashes lasting several hours" with Jordanian forces before being killed.
     
    The statement threatened more attacks in anti-Islamic State coalition member states. "We promise the Crusader coalition countries something worse and more severe, Allah permitting ...," it said.
     
    Jordanian officials have refused to identify the attackers.
     
    Seven members of the Jordanian security forces, two local bystanders and Vatcher were killed in the attacks which also left 34 people wounded.
     
    Jordan has been facing homegrown extremism; hundreds of Jordanians are fighting alongside other Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria and several thousand more are believed to support the extremist group in the kingdom.
     
    Sunday's shootings were the latest in a series of attacks over the past year that have challenged the pro-Western kingdom's claim to be an oasis of stability in a region increasingly threatened by Islamic extremists.
     
    Earlier this year, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a deadly cross-border attack from Syria on a Jordanian border post.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Donald Trump At The White House To Begin Transition Of Power: Obama Reports 'Excellent Conversation'

    Donald Trump At The White House To Begin Transition Of Power: Obama Reports 'Excellent Conversation'
    The two men have had almost no one-on-one contact previously. Trump, a Republican, led the "birther" movement that questioned Obama's US citizenship and has pledged to overturn the Democrat's signature policy achievements after he takes office on Jan. 20

    Donald Trump At The White House To Begin Transition Of Power: Obama Reports 'Excellent Conversation'

    We Are All Rooting For Trump's Success: Obama

    We Are All Rooting For Trump's Success: Obama
    Obama, speaking at the White House with Vice President Joe Biden next to him, also advised that people should not get cynical due to defeat.

    We Are All Rooting For Trump's Success: Obama

    Sikh Taxi Driver Tejinder Pal Singh Wins Australian Of The Year Award For Serving Free Meals

    Sikh Taxi Driver Tejinder Pal Singh Wins Australian Of The Year Award For Serving Free Meals
    Meet Tejinder Pal Singh, founder of a free-meal initiative called the ‘food van’, who will be awarded the 2017 Northern Territory Local Hero honour as part of the prestigious ‘Australian Of The Year Award’.

    Sikh Taxi Driver Tejinder Pal Singh Wins Australian Of The Year Award For Serving Free Meals

    Indian Americans Make Big Push Into Congress

    Indian Americans Make Big Push Into Congress
    Indian Americans made a mark in Congressional politics with one of them becoming the first to be elected to the Senate and four others winning seats in the House of Representatives.

    Indian Americans Make Big Push Into Congress

    Doanld Trump Elected US President In Voters' Revolt Against Establishment

    Doanld Trump Elected US President In Voters' Revolt Against Establishment
    The maverick outsider Donald Trump stunned the world by winning the US Presidency, the most powerful global job, as voters revolted against a smug, condescending establishment, rejecting Hillary Clinton - seen as the face of the status quo.

    Doanld Trump Elected US President In Voters' Revolt Against Establishment

    A Twice-Divorced Saudi Mother Of 6 Reinterprets Islamic Law

    A Twice-Divorced Saudi Mother Of 6 Reinterprets Islamic Law
    JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia — When Souad al-Shammary posted a series of tweets about the thick beards worn by Saudi clerics, she never imagined she would land in jail.

    A Twice-Divorced Saudi Mother Of 6 Reinterprets Islamic Law