Jordan Tourist Site Shut After Deadly Attack, Probe Launched

Jordanian troops with armored vehicles have blocked access to a popular tourist site — a Crusader castle — following attacks in the area that killed 10 people the previous day, including a Canadian visitor.

Canadian officials identified the slain tourist as Linda Vatcher.

State media said on Monday that Jordan had launched an investigation into the shootings, among the bloodiest attacks in recent years.

The attack was also the latest in a series of assaults over the past year that challenged the pro-Western kingdom’s claim to be an oasis of calm in a region increasingly threatened by Islamic terrorists.

The attack was likely to further harm Jordan’s battered tourism industry, on the decline since terrorists from the Islamic State group seized control of parts of neighboring Iraq and Syria two years ago.