AMMAN Ñ Jordan's military has captured Islamic
mercernaries from several nations in a widescale search operation for insurgents in the southern
city of Ma'an.
Jordanian military sources said scores of Egyptians, Iraqis and
Pakistanis have been captured over the last two days during the operation in
Ma'an. The city is a focal point of gun- and drug-smuggling from and to Iraq and
Syria, and is regarded as a stronghold of the Islamic opposition, financed by
Iraq.
A Syrian national and an Indian national are among the suspected
insurgents arrested in Ma'an, Middle East Newsline reported. The detainees were not further identified.
Jordanian sources said several Saudi nationals, believed to be members
of the outlawed Tafkir Wa'Hijra group, were also arrested. The Saudi embassy
in Amman has denied this.
On Monday, Jordanian special forces entered the city and conducted a
house-to-house search for at least 50 key insurgents in the city. They
included Mohammed Chalabi, known as Abu Sayaf, leader of the Tafkir
Wa'Hijra.
Islamic sources said Jordanian forces damaged Chalabi's home and that of
another insurgent. Islamic sources in Ma'an have been in touch via cellular
phone with journalists and activists throughout the Arab world.
The sources said the military's special forces unit employed helicopters
to search for the insurgents in the hills surrounding Ma'an. They said Abu
Sayafa and 15 other insurgents were surrounded in an area outside the city.
So far, five people have been reported killed in the fighting. They
included two soldiers.
Jordan's leading opposition group, the Islamic Action Front, has warned
the military to end the operation. The group said the Ma'an raid threatened
"national security as the shadows of war against Iraq looms on
the horizon."
