Swiss tourist among injured in Jordan stabbing 

The well-preserved Ancient Roman city of Gerasa, in the city of Jerash, Jordan, is a popular tourist site. Keystone

A Swiss woman is among eight people who have been injured in a knife attack at a popular archaeological site in Jordan. The attacker has been arrested.  

The country’s health ministry said the people injured were one Swiss and three Mexican tourists, and four Jordanians.  

“Around noon, a man attacked tourists, a tour guide and a security officer, who tried to stop him in Jerash,” a spokesman for Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said in a statement.  Jerash is a popular attraction some 50 km from the capital, Amman. 

He said the assailant was immediately arrested and the wounded have been taken to hospital. 

Police said the suspect was 22-year old Mohammad Abu Touaima who lived in a makeshift home on the edge of the city near a poor Palestinian refugee camp where unemployment was rife. 

The Swiss foreign ministry confirmed that one Swiss national was among the injured, and was being assisted by Switzerland’s mission to Amman.   

This is not the first time tourist sites have been targeted by attacks in Jordan. In December 2016, 10 people were killed in an attack at Kerak, some 120 km south of Amman. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for that attack.  

Jordan is known for its splendid archaeological sites, which include the ancient city of Petra, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Tourism is one of the main sources of income for the country.