Six police stabbed, 34 hurt in Jordan: spokesman

AMMAN: Police on Friday fired tear gas to disperse a demonstration by Islamist Salafists in the northern city of Zarqa after six policemen were stabbed and another 34 were also injured, spokesman Mohammad Khatib told AFP.

"Forty policemen were injured, including six stabbed as they tried to disperse a demonstration by Islamist Salafists in Zarqa," Khatib said.

"The six policemen are in serious condition."

He said police "had to fire tear gas after a group of Islamist Salafists attacked some citizens following their demonstration in Zarqa, accusing them of being atheists."

The Salafists have been demonstrating over the past few weeks to demand the release of 90 Islamist prisoners, including Abu Mohammed al-Maqdessi, the one-time mentor of slain Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Zarqawi, who hailed from Zarqa, was killed in a US air strike northeast of Baghdad in 2006. (AFP)