Jordanian police continued to seal off the southern city of Maan as forces searched house-to-house Tuesday for radicals suspected of holding a huge cache of weapons.
A security official told AP the raid in Maan was part of a drive to "put things in order before the possible war on Iraq." He added that authorities were attempting to get all armed groups under control to prevent violent protests.
Police were focusing on the city's al-Tour district, where five alleged gang leaders were believed hiding. Another top security official said the gang was believed to have smuggled a "huge amount of arms" into the city.
Jordan's Interior Minister Qaftan Majali told Petra news agency that searches continued Tuesday but the situation was calm. Officials said the curfew had been partially lifted to allow people to buy food.
Five people are known to have died in gun fights so far. Fifty people have been arrested since Sunday, including eight foreigners, Majali said. They included gang members, those who resisted police or had weapons in their homes.
Government spokesman Mohammad Affash Adwan said Tuesday police were "still hunting after remaining members of the gang hiding within the city or its outskirts." (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
