By Suleiman Al-Khalidi
AMMAN (Reuters) -A gunman was dead and three Jordanian policemen injured after a shooting near the heavily fortified Israeli embassy in the capital Amman in Sunday's early hours, a security source and state media said.
Police shot a gunman who had fired at a police patrol in the affluent Rabiah neighbourhood of the Jordanian capital, the state news agency Petra reported, citing public security, adding investigations were ongoing.
The gunman, who was carrying an automatic weapon, was chased for at least an hour before he was cornered and killed just before dawn, according to a security source.
Jordan's communications minister, Mohamed Momani, described the shooting as a terrorist attack that targeted public security forces in the country. He said in a statement that investigations into the incident were under way.
"Tampering with the security of the nation and attacking security personnel will be met with a firm response," Momani told Reuters, adding that the gunman had a criminal record in drug trafficking.
Jordanian police cordoned off an area near the heavily policed embassy after gunshots were heard, witnesses said. Two witnesses said police and ambulances rushed to the Rabiah district, where the embassy is located.
The area is a flashpoint for frequent demonstrations against Israel. The kingdom has been the scene of some of the biggest peaceful protests across the Middle East over Israel's war against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza.
Many of Jordan’s 12 million citizens are of Palestinian origin, they or their parents having been expelled or fled to Jordan in the fighting that accompanied the creation of Israel in 1948. Many have family ties on the Israeli side of the Jordan River.
Jordan's 1994 peace treaty with Israel is unpopular among many citizens who regard the normalisation of relations as betraying the rights of their Palestinian compatriots.