Jordan nabs killer of ex-intelligence official

By Laith al-Junidi

AMMAN

Jordanian authorities have arrested a man suspected in the killing of a former intelligence official this week, according to the country’s public security directorate.

A Hibis al-Hanayneh, a former official in the Jordanian intelligence service, was shot dead outside his home in Amman on Tuesday.

Amer al-Sartawi, a spokesman for the Public Security Directorate, said al-Hanayneh’s killer has been arrested, according to the official Petra news agency.

“The killer admitted that he was planning for a long time to kill al-Hanayneh for believing that he was responsible for his arrest in Russia in 2005,” he said.

He said the weapon used in the assassination has been seized.

Al-Hanayneh was leading a counter-terrorism unit in the Jordanian intelligence service.