AMMAN EAC ON 17 JULY 2008

S E C R E T AMMAN 002161 NOFORN DEPARTMENT FOR DS/CC, DS/TIA/ITA, DS/IP/NEA, NEA/EX; POSTS FOR RSO; CENTCOM FOR JSD E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/17/2023 TAGS: ASEC CASC PTER JO SUBJECT: AMMAN EAC ON 17 JULY 2008 REF: TD-314/053632-08 Classified By: RSO Douglas Haidle for Reason 1.4 (B) & (D) ¶1. (SBU) CDA convened the Emergency Action Committee (EAC) on 17 July 2008 to review the Mission's security posture in light of a shooting incident that occurred last night at Al Hashimiyah Square in Amman. All agencies and sections were represented. ¶2. (SBU) RSO briefed the EAC on the event from information gleamed from Jordanian Public Security Directorate contacts and media outlets. At 10:30PM on 16 July 2008, a lone gunman fired shots from a pistol at a group of individuals who were walking towards a bus in the square. Reportedly, five or six individuals were wounded (non-critically) after departing a musical event at the ancient Roman Amphitheater located adjacent to the square. It is still unconfirmed that the injured included two Lebanese, one Israeli Arab, and two Jordanians. The bus driver is considered one of the injured in various accounts for a total of six wounded. There were no Americans involved in this incident. The gunman attempted suicide by shooting himself in the head. He is still alive, but believed to be clinically dead. RSO reminded the EAC of the other incidents that have taken place in that vicinity of the past two years. In September 2006, a Briton was killed and five other tourists wounded in an attack at the Roman Amphitheater. In March 2008 a German tourist was stabbed in an attack while he was walking in the square area. ¶3. (S/NF) GRPO shared details of REFTEL A relating that according to the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate, the attacker was a known takfiri from the Baqa'a Palestinian refugee camp. ¶4. (SBU) Although preliminary reports indicate that the gunman was acting alone and not part of an orchestrated effort, Embassy security forces remain on high alert. GOJ security at the Embassy is at already heightened levels. Supervisors will remind employees to heighten their vigilance, practice sound security measures, and report anything suspicious immediately to the RSO via Post 1. EAC has told personnel to avoid the Al Hashimiyah Square area for the next thirty days while the security situation is being reviewed. ¶5. (SBU) After obtaining the oral clearance of duty officers from CA/OCS, DS, S/ES-O/CMS, and NEA in a conference call convened by S/ES-O, Post sent a message to Amcit wardens reporting the incident and urging Amcits to avoid the square area for the next thirty days. Similar instructions have been passed to Mission employees through a RSO Security Notice. ¶6. (SBU) The EAC agreed that the Mission's heightened security posture remained appropriate to the immediate threat environment. Rubinstein