IS claims responsibility for killing of Jordan army officer

AMMAN, Jordan – The extremist Islamic State group claimed responsibility Monday for a shooting attack it said killed a Jordanian soldier earlier this month.

The U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant internet traffic, quoted the IS news agency Amaq as saying that an IS “security detachment” killed 1st Sgt. Bassam Hourani in the southern Maan province Jan. 6.

Jordan is fighting IS in Syria and Iraq as part of a U.S.-led military coalition. IS, in turn, has targeted pro-Western Jordan, including in a deadly December shooting.

A senior Jordanian security official disputed Monday’s IS claim about the Maan area shooting, saying it was a criminal act and had nothing to do with terrorism. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case with reporters.

In a statement a day after the Maan shooting, police did not identify the victim as a soldier, saying only he was a Jordanian citizen. They said he was collecting wood with his family when he was fatally shot near a road.

Police have said a suspect from the area is in custody and that the alleged assailant did not know the victim.