Jordanian police said on Saturday they had discovered and detonated explosives in a residential area of the capital and were investigating the incident.
The explosives were found in a house in the Marka district in the northeast of the capital and detonated on site after the area was evacuated, according to a brief statement from the Directorate of Public Security.
Witnesses said the area was cordoned off by police.
The statement did not mention whether police suspected terrorism or whether any arrests were made. Nor did it reveal the exact amount of explosives.
“The case is under investigation and details will be released once the investigation is complete,” police said.
Jordan said it had foiled numerous attempts to smuggle weapons last year by infiltrators linked to pro-Iranian militias in Syria who had crossed the country’s borders with rocket launchers and explosives, with some of the weapons getting through undetected.
Iran has denied being behind such attempts.
Jordanian officials say most of the weapons secretly delivered into the country were intended for the neighboring, Israeli-occupied West Bank.
In addition, several Jordanians with links to the Palestinian militia Hamas were arrested on suspicion of being involved in smuggling weapons into the West Bank, it said.
Updated: June 22, 2024, 11:31 a.m.
