Daesh claims terrorist attack in Jordan’s Karak

Daesh said in a statement on Tuesday that four of its members with machine guns and hand grenades carried out the assault on December 18 in the southern city of Karak.

The target was Jordanian security forces as well as citizens from the countries that are part of the so-called coalition led by the United States that is purportedly fighting Daesh in Syria and Iraq, the statement said.

Jordan’s General Security Directorate confirmed in a statement that seven of the victims were policemen, two were Jordanian civilians and one was a Canadian tourist. Thirty people were also hospitalized.

Security forces managed to rescue about 10 tourists.

Jordan is a major US ally in the Middle East, and a member of the coalition.

Many Jordanians oppose their country’s involvement in the US-led campaign against purported Daesh positions in Iraq and Syria, arguing the campaign has often targeted civilians and raised security threats inside Jordan.