Jordanian security forces thwart string of major ISIS attacks

Baku. 2 March. REPORT.AZ/ Jordan said Wednesday that a raid near its border with Syria that killed seven suspected jihadists had foiled attacks being plotted by the Islamic State group (ISIS) in the kingdom, Report informs referring to the Russian media.

ISIS had planned "attacks against civilian and military sites in order to destabilize national security," Jordan's intelligence services said in a statement.

An officer in the security forces was also killed in the raid on a building in Irbid, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Amman, that sparked several hours of fighting until dawn on Wednesday, officials said.

"The terrorists refused to surrender and put up strong resistance using automatic weapons," the statement said, adding that the dead jihadists were wearing suicide vests.

Thirteen people linked to the cell were arrested and automatic weapons and explosives were seized, it added.

Irbid is just a few kilometers from the Syrian border where Jordanian security forces regularly detain drug traffickers and jihadists attempting to join extremist groups in Syria.

Jordan is part of a US-led military coalition that has been carrying out air strikes against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.