Amman Stabbing Kills Jordanian Officer as Suspect Seizes Weapon

Corporal Jawad Ali Khalaf Al-Salayta of Jordan's Public Security Directorate was killed Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, after an assailant ambushed and stabbed him at 12:20 p.m. on Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah Street in Amman, near the Sri Lankan Embassy. A security patrol intervened. Its officer in charge suffered facial injuries and was hospitalized in stable condition. The suspect was arrested after trying to seize the slain officer's weapon and was taken to hospital with the injured officer. Salayta died shortly after reaching the hospital. The PSD said the attacker used a "sharp weapon" and called the killing a "cowardly terrorist attack." Preliminary findings said he had been "planning to commit the terrorist act against the officers of the General Security Directorate." An official agency statement used the phrase "sharp instrument." Local media cited by Breaking News said the suspect carried several bladed weapons, including two daggers. Security forces blocked several street entrances. Khaleej Times reported the prime minister was following up on agencies' handling of the incident. The stabbing came roughly two weeks after an October 23 shooting at a St. George's Greek Orthodox Church funeral in Karak that killed nine and wounded dozens. On November 3, prosecutors charged three men with terrorism-related offenses over that attack. Al Jazeera reported it was not immediately clear if the Amman stabbing was related.