Jordan says attacker acted alone

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The Jordanian who shot dead a British tourist and injured six other people was acting alone and had no links to any armed group, an official has said.

The man was captured after the attack on Monday at a popular tourist site in the centre of the capital, Amman.

He has been named as Nabil Ahmed Issa Jaourah, 38.

He is from Zarqa - the home town of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaeda in Iraq leader who was killed three months ago.

The suspect "had no ties to any armed group or any suspicious group inside or outside Jordan," said government spokesman Nasser Judeh.

<a href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/5314732.stm" class="">Q&A: Jordan attack</a> <a href="/1/hi/in_pictures/5312734.stm" class="">Aftermath in pictures</a>

The shooting happened at the Roman amphitheatre in a busy part of Amman.

Five other tourists were injured - two British women as well as tourists from New Zealand, the Netherlands and Australia. A member of the local tourist police was also injured.

Eyewitnesses said the attacker approached the tourists shouting "God is great" in Arabic before firing at least 12 shots at the small group.

When his ammunition ran out, the gunman fled into the crowds before being arrested, eyewitnesses said.

Regional turbulence

Last November, 60 people were killed in a series of attacks on hotels in Amman.

BBC Amman correspondent, Jon Leyne, says that since the hotel attacks the Jordanian authorities have installed metal detectors and military vehicles are often on duty at the gates.

That may be the reason this attack carried out at the Roman amphitheatre in the city centre, a site that is far harder to secure.

Jordan's tourist industry was already suffering from the effect of the Lebanese conflict.

Monday's shooting is further evidence this would-be oasis of stability is not immune to the turbulence sweeping the region, our correspondent says.