Security officer killed in stabbing attack in Jordan's capital Amman, attacker arrested

A member of Jordan's security forces has been killed in a stabbing attack in the capital, Amman. Another security officer was wounded in the same incident.

Jordan's Public Security Directorate said on Thursday that the officer died after being assaulted with a sharp object. The directorate described the incident as a 'cowardly terrorist attack'.

Jordan's state-run Al-Mamlaka TV reported that the assailant attempted to seize the weapon of the security officer who was killed. A second security officer intervened to stop him, and both the assailant and the second officer sustained injuries.

Al-Mamlaka said the attacker had been arrested.

The Public Security Directorate said a preliminary investigation indicated the attacker had been planning to commit the terrorist act against officers of the Public Security Directorate.

Al Jazeera's correspondent in Amman reported that after the attack, the injured security officer was transported to hospital together with the injured assailant, while authorities began investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The Sri Lankan Embassy in Amman said the attack took place in its vicinity, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Weeks earlier, gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in southern Jordan, killing nine people and wounding dozens more. It was not immediately clear whether the stabbing was related to the church attack.

After the church attack, Jordan's King Abdullah said on Monday that 'terrorists' would not be allowed to threaten the country's unity and security. The deadly church attack had prompted Jordanian strikes in Syria.