March 1 will be a date to remember in the fight against extremism. That date marks the day the war on ISIL hit home for Jordan.
That evening, a battle broke out as Jordanian security services attempted to arrest an ISIL sleeper cell in the northern city of Irbid.
Several hours of gun-battles resulted in the killing of one police officer, seven ISIL militants and the arrest of 13 jihadists.
In its initial findings, Jordanian police say the ISIL cell was “plotting attacks against civilian and military sites” and sought to “destabilise national security”.
Jordan has since ordered a media blackout on the case to protect continuing investigations.
But one thing remains clear: ISIL has launched a war on Jordan it is destined to lose. While ISIL expanded its territory in Syria and Iraq, Jordan has spent the past two years tightening its security at home, staying several steps ahead of the jihadist group to prevent infiltration from outside or support from within.
Since mid-2014, Jordan has been implementing a “shoot-first” policy towards unknown groups or people attempting to storm the border from Syria. The policy has been relatively successful – preventing over 15 breaches of the border and resulting in the killing of over 20 militants.
Reportedly the kingdom is taking its security one step further, building more security watch towers and installing sensor technology, laying the groundwork for an eventual security fence expected to cover much of the Jordanian-Syrian border.
Jordan has even taken a new approach. In March 2015, faced with the prospect of thousands of Syrians fleeing from ISIL-controlled areas such as Al Riqqa into the kingdom, Jordan altered its four-year open border policy.
Rather than bringing refugees of all stripes into the country, Jordan began screening and processing refugees in the desert no-man’s land along the Jordan and Syria border, running extensive background checks before any Syrian refugee sets foot on Jordanian soil.
As of this March, more than 15,000 Syrians remained in the camp, with 40-100 allowed entry into Jordan each day. The move may not have been good publicity, but it was effective.
Syrians no longer flood the borders. Jordan has eliminated the possibility of front-door infiltration by ISIL. Amman now knows the identity, origin and background of each and every Syrian entering Jordan.
Jordan has also stayed ahead of ISIL by cutting off any potential jihadist threat at home.
In December 2015, months before the Irbid clashes, Jordan jailed Abu Mohammed Al Tahawi, the most influential salafi jihadist cleric in northern Jordan and most ardent ISIL supporter in the kingdom.
In jailing Tahawi, Jordan neutralised ISIL’s most charismatic advocate and left many hard-line salafist jihadists leaderless.
But Jordan’s crackdown is not limited to clerics and ideologues. Jordan has jailed over 200 jihadist sympathisers since late 2014, many of them aligned with ISIL, for acts ranging from gun smuggling to mere Facebook pledges of allegiance to the group.
Meanwhile, Jordan has allowed salafists and jihadists critical of ISIL “room to speak”– provided they denounce ISIL and do not harm public security or incite violence.
ISIL will be hard pressed to establish a new cell let alone a branch in Jordan when potential foot-soldiers and leaders are behind bars. The presence of anti-ISIL clerics not only in Jordan’s mosques, but within the salafist community, provides little fertile ground for the group to grow.
Yet tightened security and savvy intelligence gathering alone will not make Jordan immune to ISIL attacks. Alleged ISIL affiliate Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade is inching close to Jordan’s borders.
There will be future attempts. There may even be future casualties. But March 1 will remain the day ISIL fired the first shot in a losing war.
Taylor Luck is a journalist and analyst in Amman
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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SPEC SHEET: APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Platform: iPadOS 18, Apple Intelligence (iPadOS 18.1 update)
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Video: 4K @ 24/25/30/60fps, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps, HD @ 30fps, slow-mo @ 120/240fps
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Audio: Landscape stereo speakers; dual mics
Battery: Up to 10 hours
Connectivity: WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
I/O: USB-C
SIM: eSIM
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Major honours
ARSENAL
BARCELONA
- La Liga - 2013
- Copa del Rey - 2012
- Fifa Club World Cup - 2011
CHELSEA
- Premier League - 2015, 2017
- FA Cup - 2018
- League Cup - 2015
SPAIN
- World Cup - 2010
- European Championship - 2008, 2012
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
RESULT
Uruguay 3 Russia 0
Uruguay: Suárez (10'), Cheryshev (23' og), Cavani (90')
Russia: Smolnikov (Red card: 36')
Man of the match: Diego Godin (Uruguay)
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group H
Juventus v Valencia, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
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Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Nations League
League A, Group 4
Spain v England, 10.45pm (UAE)