Jordanian police investigating shooting incident

Jul 17, 2008, 11:33 GMT

Amman- Jordanian security authorities were Thursday investigating a shooting incident in which a gunman wounded six people during a concert in downtown Amman the night before, official sources said.

Jordanian Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communication Nasser Judeh said the wounded were four Lebanese, an Arab Israeli woman and a Jordanian tourist bus driver.

He said that initial investigations showed that the incident was of a 'criminal nature.'

The Interior Minister Eid al-Fayez visited the wounded at hospitals and directed security men to speed up the investigations to find out the motives of the slain attacker.

The assailant opened fire on members of the Lebanese band as they boarded a vehicle after performing a concert near the Roman Amphitheatre. He later turned the gun on himself.

Officials said that the concert was not part of the Jordan Festival, which opened on July 8 and was due to run through August 9.

The festival initially drew sharp criticism from the Jordan Artists Association (JAA) which urged other Arab artists to boycott the event, alleging that it could be held to promote 'normalization' with Israel.

But the JAA dropped its reservations when King Abdullah II intervened, lashing out at those who 'follow rumours.'

The critics of the festival, including the Islamic-led opposition and trade unions, said the event was arranged by the French firm, Publicis Groupe, which also supervised Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations in mid-May.