Jordanians are still reeling from the shock of a dramatic security operation undertaken March 2 in the northern city of Irbid. The predawn, hourslong raid on a cell linked to the Islamic State (IS) resulted in special forces killing seven extremists wearing explosive belts. The government's action followed the arrest of 13 suspects earlier in the day. One Jordanian security officer was killed and five others were injured in the operation.

This was the first confrontation in the kingdom with an armed group associated with IS since Jordan joined the international coalition fighting the Salafist jihadist organization in September 2014. In a March 2 statement, the General Intelligence Department said that the seven men killed in Irbid were planning to carry out attacks on military and civil targets in the kingdom.

The government has released very little information on the incident, leaving many questions unanswered. On March 3, government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani told the official Jordan Radio and Television Corporation, “Initial information indicates that all the slain cell members were Jordanian nationals.” Those arrested were being interrogated and will be tried before the State Security Court, official sources said.

The incident has shifted the public's attention to the threat that IS and other such extremist groups pose on the domestic front. Since IS emerged in 2013 in Iraq and Syria, two countries with long borders with Jordan, fears have focused on the possibility of militants crossing into the kingdom to carry out attacks.