Jordan’s former counter-terror chief Habis Al-Hanini shot dead

On October 23, 2018, Jordan's former counterterrorism chief General Habis al-Hanini was shot dead outside his home, according to medical and security sources. Al-Hanini was killed around 7 pm (16:00 GMT) on Tuesday in the city of Madaba, around 30km Southwest of the Jordanian capital, Amman.

According to the spokesperson of the Jordanian public security directorate, the gunman fled the scene successfully which drove the Jordanian security and intelligence forces to form an investigative team to follow up on the case.

The Jordanian Forces managed to find and apprehend the killer hours after the shooting incident. The suspect reportedly confessed to planning the murder over a period of time thinking that Al-Hanini was behind his arrest in Russia in 2005.

Al-Hanini retired last year from Jordan’s General Directorate of Intelligence where he used to head a counter-terrorism unit. This is the first time in recent history an official with this kind of seniority was killed either on active duty or retirement. A CIA analyst who used to work with Al-Hanini told the media that Al-Hanini was an “extremely smart intelligence officer” and he “really understood the underpinnings of why individuals join extremist groups”.