3 U.S. Military Trainers Shot Dead at Jordan Air Base

Amman-The number of U.S. troops killed in a shooting outside the Prince Faisal air base in the south of Jordan rose to three on Friday. A Jordanian officer was also wounded

A Jordanian medical source said that “the number of U.S. servicemen killed on Friday is three.”

The Jordanian army had earlier said the shooting took place at the gate of Al-Jafr base after the car carrying the U.S. trainers failed to stop.

Two trainers died immediately and the third later in hospital. A Jordanian army guard was also shot and wounded.

“An investigation is now under way to know exactly what happened,” a military source said.

The U.S. embassy in Jordan confirmed the incident.

“We have reports of a security incident involving American personnel and we are in contact with Jordanian officials who are giving us all the support,” the embassy statement said.

Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that one of the guards at the air base opened fired at the vehicle that was transporting the U.S. military trainers after they did not heed a warning to stop.

A similar incident took place in November 2015 when a Jordanian army officer shot dead two U.S. government security contractors and a South African at a U.S.-funded police training facility near Amman before being gunned down.

Jordan hosts several hundred U.S. contractors in a military cooperation program.

3 U.S. Military Trainers Shot Dead at Jordan Air Base