8 men charged with killing of 4 police officers in Maan plead not guilty

AMMAN — Eight men, who are standing trial at the State Security Court (SSC) on charges of killing four police officers and other terror-related offences pleaded not guilty to all charges during their opening trial on Tuesday.

The defendants were also charged with plotting subversive acts that led to the death of a person or more, possessing illegal weapons, plotting terror acts that would cause chaos and fear among the general public and joining terrorist groups, in the southern governorate of Maan in December.

A ninth defendant who remains at large will be tried in absentia.

Three of the four slain officers were killed on December 19 during a raid on the hideout of the suspected killers of Colonel Abdulrazzaq Al Dalabeeh, who was killed a few days earlier in riots over fuel price hikes in Maan.

The SSC court adjourned the session until July 4, upon which it will start hearing witnesses for the defence.

The Public Security Department at the time announced that Captain Ghaith Rahahleh, Second Lieutenant Mutaz Najada and Corporal Ibrahim Shaqarin were killed during the raid.

Five other police officers were injured in the same raid.

Colonel Dalabeeh, who was the deputy director of the Maan Police Directorate, was shot in the head while handling riots in the Al Husseinieh region, 60km north of Maan, on December 16. During the riots, two other officers were injured and were taken to the hospital.

Dalabeeh’s suspected killer was reportedly a follower of the extremist takfiri ideology. The suspect was killed, and eight others were arrested during the raid, the PSD announced in December.

The suspect killed in the Al Husseinieh raid was born in 2002. One of his brothers was killed in Syria five years ago, and the other is currently imprisoned on terrorism-related charges, according to Al Mamlaka TV.

The suspects were found in possession of automatic weapons and a large amount of ammunition, according to the PSD.   

The PSD said that a special security force conducted a raid on a terrorist cell in Al Husseinieh after investigations uncovered a group of brothers who were proponents of the takfiri ideology.

As the police were heading to the cell, one of the suspects started shooting at the force with an automatic weapon, which required security personnel to apply the rules of engagement.

Evidence from the crime scene indicated that most members of the cell embraced the extremist ideology.