Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Police: German tourist stabbed in Jordan’s capital in stable condition | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
Select Page

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) – A Jordanian man stabbed a German tourist in Jordan’s capital on Friday, leaving the victim wounded but in stable condition after the attack, police officials said.

Authorities arrested the attacker and transferred the victim to a nearby hospital, where he underwent surgery, said Maj. Mohammed al-Khatib.

The 63-year-old German tourist was walking with his wife near Al-Husseini mosque in downtown Amman when a 34-year-old Jordanian man attacked him, said a second police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

A judicial official, speaking on condition of anonymity for the same reason, identified the attacker as Mohammed Mahdi Barham and said his long beard and general demeanor indicated he seemed to be an Islamist.

The victim’s name was only released in Arabic, making an accurate translation difficult.

Officials at the German Embassy in Amman refused to comment on the incident because they were still trying to determine the details.

Police were questioning the attacker to determine his motives, said al-Khatib.

Attacks against foreigners are rare in Jordan, but Interior Minister Eid al-Fayez said Friday that the incident was not related to terrorism. “It is an individual act carried out by a mad man,” al-Fayez told reporters while visiting the injured tourist at the hospital.

The case will be referred to Jordan’s military prosecutor, the judicial official said.