Rare militant attack on Jordan security compound kills 5

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan's government spokesman says "terrorists" have attacked a local intelligence office near the capital of Amman, killing five employees.

Such attacks are rare in pro-Western Jordan, a key member of the U.S.-led military coalition against Islamic State extremists in neighboring Syria and Iraq.

Mohammed Momani, the government spokesman, says the attack took place before 7 a.m. on Monday, the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in the Palestinian refugee camp of Baqaa.

Momani says the assailants, whom he described as terrorists, killed three guards, a handyman and a receptionist, but didn't clarify how they carried out the attack.

He suggested the attackers were Islamic militants, saying they displayed the "criminal behavior of people who are outside of our religion."

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.