Jordan Foils Terrorist Plot

Jordanian forces have killed one al-Qaeda operative and captured another in an operation that foiled a pending terrorist attack against the Hashemite Kingdom:

Police killed one suspected al-Qaida member and detained a second in a crackdown Tuesday that foiled a terrorist plot against Jordan, the state news agency and officials said. …
A unit comprised of elite police and intelligence forces stormed the cell’s hideout because of “information on plans by al-Qaida targeting the Jordanian arena,” Petra said, quoting an unidentified security official. It did not elaborate.
Security officials told The Associated Press that the two men opened fire at the special security forces that came to arrest them.
Police shot one man dead, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the operation was under way. The other man is in police custody, they said.

The dead man is presumed to be a Palestinian, as he entered Jordan on a temporary passport, which is usually used for Palestinians. He was one of the most wanted AQ operatives in the region. Suleiman Ghayad al-Anjadi had attempted a prison break that would have freed AQ ringleader Azmi al-Jayousi in April 2006. Instead, they convicted Anjadi in absentia, and effectively closed their case this morning. Jayousi awaits his execution after his 2004 conviction for the planned gas attack in Amman.
It seems to be a bad week for al-Qaeda. They’ve watched their remnants get shredded in Somalia by US forces, and now the Jordanians have thwarted another operation and killed one of their ringleaders. 2007 has gotten off to a good start for counterterrorism efforts.