Jordan arrests 16 people for ‘targeting national security’

Jordan said on Tuesday it had arrested 16 people linked to the Muslim Brotherhood who were trained and financed in Lebanon and had plotted attacks on targets inside the kingdom involving rockets and drones.

Authorities said at least one rocket was ready to be launched as part of an operation that had been under surveillance by security forces since 2021.

A security source said the suspects were connected to the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s largest opposition group, while the head of the cell who trained some of its members was based in Lebanon.

The Brotherhood have been accused of instigating anti-government street protests in Jordan, which has a large Palestinian population.

Security forces found a rocket manufacturing facility alongside a drone factory, according to a statement by the General Intelligence Department released on state media.

“The plot aimed at harming national security, sowing chaos and causing material destruction inside the kingdom,” the statement said.

The suspects were referred to the state security court for trial.

Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood issued a statement denying any affiliations with the individuals in the plot to destabilise the kingdom.

“We are talking about new tactics, rockets and drones. This means a complete change in the way the Muslim Brotherhood are dealing with Jordan and targeting its security,” Amer Al Sabaileh, a prominent security analyst, told reporters.

Government spokesperson Mohammad al Momani told a press briefing the government would be airing full confessions from the suspects, some of whom had been trained in Lebanon.

The rockets found in a secret hideout on the outskirts of the capital were being manufactured with a 3 to 5 km range for use against targets inside the kingdom, Momani added.

A security source said dozens of rockets were found.

Over the past year, Jordan has said it has foiled attempts to smuggle weapons by infiltrators in Syria.

They said some of the arms were bound for the neighbouring Israeli-occupied West Bank, adding that they have arrested several Jordanians linked to Palestinian groups.

Security officials said the incidents were terrorism-related based on the quantities of explosives found.

Jordan has over 3,500 American troops stationed in several bases and, since the war between Israel and Palestinian groups in Gaza erupted in October 2023, it has been increasingly targeted by groups operating in neighbouring Syria and Iraq.

Reuters