Jordanian intelligence has said it foiled a plot by two people to mount attacks against American and Israeli diplomats alongside United States troops deployed at a military base in the south of the country, according to a statement issued by the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) cited by the state-owned al-Rai newspaper.
The GID statement, which was reported on Tuesday, said the suspects had viewed the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) group’s materials online in 2015 and were communicating with each other via messaging apps to discuss their views and support for ISIL’s objectives in the region.
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The report cited the GID statement as saying the suspects planned to drive vehicles into their targets and attack them with firearms and knives. It added that the suspects were arrested last July and would stand trial in Jordan‘s state security court.
The court hears “terrorism” and other high-profile criminal cases, but is not part of the country’s civilian justice system. Jordanian legal scholars have questioned the court’s constitutionality.
A former Jordanian intelligence officer, who spoke to Al Jazeera on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, that: “The timing of the announcement is rather peculiar given the suspects have been in custody for a long time.”
The ex-officer argued that the timing of the announcement “is politically motivated and its intended audience is the American political leaders to show Jordan’s war on terror efforts”.
Hasan Abu Haniyeh, an Amman-based analyst, said it appeared that the GID and the government were trying to send several messages to international and domestic audiences.
“The GID wants to show Jordanian society that it is still relevant and capable of fighting terrorism especially in recent terror-related attacks on targets inside Jordan,” he said.
Abu Haniyeh said Jordan’s landmark role in fighting “terrorism” in the region has diminished in recent years and its value to the US “counterterrorism” establishment appears to have decreased.
Global News 
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