Jordan’s King Abdullah held an emergency cabinet meeting on Tuesday vowing to respond with an iron fist against the perpetrators.
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The military said the blast went off at about 5:30 a.m., close to a makeshift tent encampment where tens of thousands of Syrian refugees are stranded, awaiting entry to Jordan.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region-Jordan has closed its borders with Syria and Iraq, declaring them military zones after a suicide attack on its forces on Tuesday killed six soldiers and wounded 14 others.
The military said it had destroyed several “enemy” vehicles at the border, without elaborating.
The attack on the border guards, by a suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden truck, has coalesced feelings in Jordan against allowing any more refugees into the Kingdom. Jordan’s government is a staunch ally of the United States, which opposes Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces, the Islamic State group, and the Nusra Front, an al-Qaida affiliate.
It was the first attack of its kind targeting Jordan from Syria since the latter’s descent into conflict in 2011. Another statement issued by the armed forces said the booby-trapped vehicle used in the attack came from the camp.
Tuesday’s bombing comes two weeks after a gunman, who was later arrested, killed five Jordanian intelligence officers in a Palestinian refugee camp north of the capital.
Amman has said its frontiers with Iraq and Syria are now restricted military zones.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said that Jordan has always warned of the increased number of Syrian refugees on the borders.
Jordanian officials have said they have evidence that Islamic State militants have infiltrated the two camps and are attempting to slip into Jordan, pretending to be refugees. The border is heavily guarded by patrols and drones.
The crossing had been the last route through which people fleeing Syria could enter Jordan.
It is not yet clear who carried out the assault, but the Daesh group has threatened in the past to “break down” Jordan’s borders.
Jordan is now hosting over 650,000 Syrian refugees.
Momani said that Jordanians stand in unity against such attacks, stressing the government’s measures to preserve Jordan’s security and safety.
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Jordan, which has already accepted more than 600,000 United Nations -registered Syrian refugees, is resisting.
