Jordanian security forces neutralized armed suspects in a raid in northern Jordan, Jordanian state media said, on the morning of November 26.
Jordan’s state Petra News said that “the Public Security Directorate (PSD) reported that a special security unit raided a site in Ramtha on Tuesday evening, sheltering two brothers wanted for extremist-related investigations.”
Ramtha is located in northern Jordan, near the city of Irbid and the border with Syria. Over the past decade, it has been a transit area for many Syrian refugees and displaced people.
Jordan has seen several terrorist incidents in recent years. In 2016, dozens of suspects, emanating from Irbid, were arraigned on terror charges related to their role in having weapons and committing terrorist acts.
In 2017, Jordan executed 10 people on terror charges, some for crimes dating back two decades.
The recent report says that upon arrival to detain the suspects in Ramtha, “the suspects opened heavy fire on the unit, injuring three officers who were hospitalized for treatment.
“The suspects, who had used their mother as a human shield, were killed during the operation. Authorities ensured the mother was unharmed.”
Petra News said, “The raid also led to the seizure of firearms and ammunition at the location.”
A robot was used during the operation
Al-Arabiya noted that the Jordanian security forces used a robot during the operation due to the presence of explosives. The robot “helped in inspecting the site, with the aim of reducing risks to security personnel during engagements with wanted individuals classified as dangerous.”
The report said the type of robot is called Parabot and is made by Paramount Group. This assessment was based on a 2016 report from Defense Web and was difficult to confirm. The robot weighs up to a ton and is “equipped with advanced armor materials to protect it from bullets,” the Al-Arabiya report says. Militaries are increasingly using robots to assist in operations.
The suspects in Ramtha were extremists wanted for a “Takfiri” (“apostate”) campaign of incitement, which usually refers to those linked to ISIS-type groups.
The suspects “had barricaded themselves inside the site and used their mother inside as a human shield to prevent them from being targeted,” Petra News further reported.