Eight people, including four tourists, have been stabbed at a popular archaeological site in Jordan.
Four tourists – three Mexican citizens and one Swiss – along with four Jordanian citizens, including a police officer, a tour guide and a tour bus driver, have been attacked in Jerash, one of Jordan’s most popular tourist sites.
According to authorities, none of the injuries sustained were life-threatening, but the wounds of the tour guide as “serious” and the tourists’ “moderate”, as reported by ABC News.
The Washington Post reported the attacker was arrested at the scene on Wednesday, as Jordanian police continued to search for a motive behind the attack by a 22-year-old Jordanian-born Palestinian man reportedly from a nearby refugee camp.
Witnesses to the incident said the man had been clad all in black and had attempted to chase tourists into the cafeteria at the site.
“He passed in front of me and I leaned towards him,” bus driver Ali El Agrabawi told Reuters.
“I slipped, and he stabbed me. I then backed away, moving towards the policeman. He gave the policeman a slight stab. I tried to attack him from behind. I pushed him to the ground. Afterwards, all the policemen came and took him,” Ali El Agrabawi said.
Lonely Planet describes the ruined ancient Roman city of Jerash as “Jordan’s largest and most interesting Roman site, and a major tourist drawcard”.
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