Dutch tourist among wounded in Jordan 04/09/2006 00:00

4 September 2006

AMSTERDAM — One person was killed and fire others were injured when a gunman opened fire on western tourists in the Jordanian capital in Amman on Monday.

The person who died is British and one of the wounded is Dutch, a Jordanian government official said. The gunman, identified only as a Jordanian, was arrested. Three of the other casualties are British and one is a New Zealander.

The shooting took place in the Roman amphitheatre in central Amman. It is a popular tourist attraction, BBC reported.

An eyewitness told the AFP news agency that the attacker approached the tourists shouting "God is great" in Arabic. He fired about 14 rounds at the Jordanian guide and the tourists.

Government spokesman Zaken Eid Fayez said the five suffered light injuries. Describing the incident as terrorism "in every sense of the word", he said he hoped it was an isolated incident that would not impact on security and tourism in the Arab country.

This is the first attack since 9 November when suicide bombers attacked three hotels in Amman. Sixty people died in those attacks.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2006]

Subject: Dutch news