Many rumors are circulating in Amman about alleged terror threats to shopping malls and other public places in response to news that the kingdom’s air force has joined the US-led coalition in targeting Islamic State (IS) positions in Syria. No more is that evident than in posh west Amman with residents exchanging — mostly on social media — unconfirmed reports of emergency evacuation of shopping centers. The big question on everyone’s mind is how will IS retaliate against Jordan’s direct involvement in a growing regional and international coalition to degrade and destroy it. The Public Security Department (PSD) had to issue clarifications refuting rumors about potential terrorist threats. But government sources confirmed to Al-Monitor that a state of high alert has been declared affecting the armed forces and the PSD. Travelers to the southern port city of Aqaba, 350 kilometers (217 miles) from Amman, talked about multiple security checkpoints along the highway.

Jordanians are right to worry about possible reprisals. In November 2005, three Amman hotels were rattled by suicide attacks that left 60 people dead and more than 100 injured. The attacks were carried out by the al-Qaeda affiliate in Iraq led by Jordanian Abu Musab Zarqawi, who was later assassinated by the CIA. The memory of the Amman bombings is still fresh in many people’s minds.

IS and al-Qaeda-affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra have threatened to retaliate against the United States and Arab countries that joined the coalition, including Jordan. US Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was quoted as saying that IS “will certainly threaten Lebanon in the near term, … Jordan in the mid term.”

Jordan has common borders with both Iraq and Syria; two countries where IS has been active and is in control of large swaths of land. In justifying the latest airstrikes by the royal air force, Jordan's armed forces said on Sept. 23 that it had thwarted a number of attempts to infiltrate the borders by terrorists. King Abdullah had reiterated Jordan’s commitment to fighting terrorism on Sept. 24, and participated in NATO’s summit in Wales on Sept. 4 and in the special UN Security Council session chaired by US President Barack Obama on the same day. After the initial denial that Jordan was about to join the anti-IS coalition, it was clear that the kingdom has become an active player along with four other Arab countries.