Jordan declares foiling terrorist plot via pipeline

AMMAN - 17 February 2018: Jordanian authorities have aborted a plot to smuggle terrorists, arms and narcotics via the Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline).

An official source at the Jordanian Army Command said in a statement, on Saturday, that intelligence efforts resulted in foiling the plan for trafficking via the pipeline that crosses Jordan's borders with Syria and Iraq, according to KUNA News Agency on Saturday.

The terrorists used a house close to the borders and the pipeline, digging tunnels and equipping them for trafficking and carrying out terrorist operations, the official source said, cited by the official news agency, Petra.

Orders were given to demolish the tunnels and bring part of the pipeline to surface of the ground. The pipeline, erected by Saudi Arabia in 1950, stretches from Al-Qaisouma southeast of Hafr Al-Baten to Al-Zahrani, on Lebanon's southern coast, just south of the coastal city Sidon.