The Canadian tourist, three other civilians and five police officers were killed during the exchange of gunfire between the assailants and security forces. At least 29 people were taken to hospital, some with serious injuries.
Police earlier freed 10 people, including foreign tourists, but some were still being held in the Crusader-era castle from where the gunmen shot at security forces who were surrounding it, the source said.
Police freed tourists trapped inside the castle but the operation was continuing.
No group has admitted carrying out the attacks.
A former government minister from Karak city, Sameeh Maaytah, said there were signs Islamist militants may have been behind the attack but the government has so far steered away from saying this.
"The operation is continuing, it has not ended and the criminals are still inside the castle ... This was a group that was plotting certain operations inside Jordan," Mr Maaytah told pan-Arab news channel al-Hadath.
Video footage on social media showed security forces taking groups of young Asian tourists up the castle's steep steps to its main entrance as gunshots were heard overhead.
The castle is one of the country's most popular tourist attractions.
Police and witnesses said gunmen had earlier gone on a shooting spree aimed at officers patrolling the town before entering the castle, perched on top of a hill. They used one of the castle's towers to fire at a nearby police station.
Police said the gunmen had arrived from the desert town of Qatraneh, nearly 30km northeast of Karak city, a desert outpost known for smuggling, where many tribal residents are heavily armed. They had fled to Karak after an exchange of fire with the police at a residential building, security forces said.
Jordan is a close ally of the US and a member of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq.
It is is one of the few Arab states that have taken part in the US-led air campaign against the militants.
But many Jordanians oppose their country's involvement, saying it had killed fellow Muslims and raised security threats inside Jordan.
US forces have trained a small group of Syrian rebels in Jordan as well as Iraqi and Palestinian security forces.
Prime Minister Hani al Mulki told parliament "a number of security personnel" had been killed in the shooting attack in Karak and that security forces were laying siege to the castle. The Canadian government confirmed one of its nationals had been killed.
No comments:
Post a Comment