US embassy cable - 02AMMAN6650

S E C R E T AMMAN 006650 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/11/2012 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PTER, ASEC, JO 
SUBJECT: GOJ MOVES AGAINST ARMED GROUP IN MA'AN; CURFEW, 
HOUSE TO HOUSE SEARCHES CONTINUE 
 
REF: AMMAN 6535 
 
Classified By: DCM GREGORY L. BERRY. REASONS: 1.5 (B) and (D). 
 
1.  (S)  SUMMARY.  As of mid-day November 12, the search for 
members of an armed Islamic group in the southern Jordanian 
city of Ma'an continues.  Jordanian security forces entered 
Ma'an on November 10 after a heavily armed gang refused to 
give up its leader Mohammad Shalibi (aka Abu Sayyaf) 
(reftel).  In ensuing gun battles, at least four individuals 
associated with the group and a PSD warrant officer were 
killed, and several on both sides were wounded.  The group 
appears to be associated with the Islamic group 
Takfir-al-Hijra.  According to the GOJ, calm has been 
restored to the city, although the operation to find Shalibi 
continues with heavily armed gunmen still at large and the 
security services on shoot-to-kill orders.  The city remains 
under curfew.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (SBU).  On November 10, GOJ security forces entered 
Ma'an.  Upon entering the city to conduct a house to house 
search for Abu Sayyaf, GOJ forces were apparently confronted 
by the armed supporters of Abu Sayyaf, and gunfire ensued. 
According to media reports, four from Abu Sayyaf's group and 
one PSD warrant officer were confirmed killed, and there were 
additional casualties on both sides. Road blocks were put in 
place around the city, and the Desert Highway north and south 
of Ma'an was closed. 
 
3.  (S)  On November 12, Int Min Qaftan Majali announced that 
"calm had been restored to Ma'an."  The GOJ reported that 25 
arrests were made, among them Egyptians and Iraqis who 
allegedly were caught attempting to smuggle weapons to the 
Ma'an gang.  Abu Sayyaf and several compatriots, reportedly 
armed with RPGs and machine guns, remain at large.  There are 
unconfirmed (comment: and unlikely) rumors that Abu Sayyaf 
escaped to Aqaba.  A curfew on city residents continues. 
 
4.  (C).  Al-Jazeera reported Nov 11 that one of their 
correspondents, Yasser Abu Halale, as well as Arab al-Youm 
reporter Samer Abu Halale, was arrested.  Yasser Abu Halale 
was reportedly charged with violating the GOJ-imposed ban on 
reporting for al-Jazeera.  The regional and international 
media has issued spurious reports linking the Ma'an situation 
with the assassination of Larry Foley and/or with potential 
forthcoming USG operations in Iraq. 
 
5.  (S)  Former Member of Parliament Dr. Abdullah Al-Jazi, a 
leading member of a pro-regime Haweitat tribe located outside 
of Ma'an, said Ma'an has had to endure this group of 
"smugglers and criminals" for years, and most people in Ma'an 
will be happy to see them gone.  Dr. Al-Jazi was confident 
that the GOJ would be able to manage the situation in the 
short-term, but was not confident that the PM is committed to 
resuscitating the poverty stricken area of Ma'an in the 
long-term. 
 
6.  (S)  COMMENT.  The situation in Ma'an appears to be a 
localized incident, and there are no current indications that 
the challenge to the GOJ there is spreading elsewhere.  On 
the street, rumors surrounding the "real reason" for the 
timing of the GOJ action in Ma'an persist, although most 
people see the situation in Ma-an for what it appears to be: 
a rebellious group of gangsters wrongfully challenging the 
authority of the GOJ.  With Abu Sayyaf and/or his men 
possibly holed up in a situation akin to "Butch Cassidy and 
the Sundance Kid", additional casualties are possible.  We 
will continue to monitor the situation. 
GNEHM