A Jordanian police corporal was killed in a bladed-weapon attack directly outside the Sri Lankan Embassy in Amman, and Jordanian authorities have classified the incident as a terrorist act. All Embassy staff and members of the Sri Lankan community in Jordan are safe.
The Embassy confirmed the deaths and the safety of its personnel on Thursday, the Daily Mirror reported, a day after the attack.
What happened
According to Jordan’s Public Security Directorate (PSD), an attack involving a sharp object took place at around 12.20 p.m. in front of the Embassy building on Wednesday.
Corporal Jawad Ali Khalaf Al-Salaita was killed while on duty.
A police patrol intervened and arrested the suspect. The commanding officer of that patrol sustained facial injuries and was admitted to hospital, where he remains in stable condition.
Preliminary investigations indicate the suspect had planned the attack against security personnel. Jordanian authorities have classified the incident as a terrorist act, and a full investigation is under way.
Hiru News independently reported the killing of an officer deployed for the Embassy’s protection, confirmed that all staff working at the mission are safe, and likewise reported that Jordanian authorities are treating it as a terrorist act.
One point of wording differs between the two filings and is recorded here rather than resolved: Hiru’s English headline describes the dead man as a security guard, while its Sinhala text calls him an officer deployed for the Embassy’s security. The Daily Mirror, citing the PSD directly, identifies him as a police corporal on duty. This desk follows the Daily Mirror, which names him.
The Sri Lankan response
The Embassy expressed its condolences to Corporal Al-Salaita’s family and colleagues, and to the people and Government of Jordan.
Ambassador Wishwanath Aponsu and Embassy officials are monitoring the security situation in coordination with Jordanian authorities, with a stated focus on the safety of the Sri Lankan community in the country.
Context
Jordan hosts a substantial Sri Lankan migrant workforce, concentrated in domestic and garment-sector employment, and the Amman mission is the principal point of consular contact for them. The Embassy’s statement addresses that community directly rather than confining itself to mission staff.
The target, on the available evidence, was Jordanian security personnel rather than the Embassy or Sri Lankan nationals: the PSD’s preliminary finding is that the suspect planned an attack on security forces, and the Embassy was the location rather than the stated object of it.
Not reported
Neither filing names the suspect, states a nationality or motive, or says whether the attacker was known to authorities beforehand.
Neither reports whether the Embassy has suspended consular services or altered its security posture, whether Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry has issued a separate statement, or whether any advisory has been issued to Sri Lankan nationals in Jordan.