Jordan shaken by threats from ISIS, Iraq, Syria
The kingdom faces a security crisis over conflicts involving neighboring Iraq and Syria, a jihadist enclave on its border, waves of refugees, and returning terrorist fighters from both countries.
Jordan has reacted swiftly to reports that the border crossing point of Treibel, on the Iraqi side, had fallen into rebel hands, including possibly fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), by beefing up military presence on the eastern front and heightening the state of alert. The Jordanian armed forces confirmed June 24 that it has reinforced its units along the 180-kilometer (112-mile) border with Iraq. It said the action was taken after the Iraqi army withdrew from the border crossing, and that the army and security personnel were ready to deal with any contingency.
But a spokesman for al-Anbar governorate’s Sunni tribes told Al-Maqar website that the border point was under the control of tribal rebels who are working jointly with Iraqi border guards. He denied the existence of ISIS at Treibel, while other reports said members of the Salafist jihadist group took over a number of Iraqi towns in Anbar, including al-Rutba, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Jordan-Iraq border.
