Jordan widens signs of home-grown extremism

A man outside the al-Maktoum mosque in Zarqa, Jordan squats over the body of Nasser Idreis, who died of complications of a liver infection while serving a three-year prison term for supporting the extremist group
Islamic State. Hundreds of suspected backers of the Islamic State group in Jordan have been sentenced to prison, are awaiting trial or are being held for questioning in a heavy crackdown by the kingdom under toughened anti-terror laws that punish even liking or sharing IS material on social media.

The court's heavy load is part of a widening domestic crackdown on the extremist group. Hundreds have been sentenced to prison, are awaiting trial or are being held for questioning about links to IS. Under toughened anti-terror laws, even liking or sharing the group's propaganda on social media can land someone a prison sentence.

Some say the crowded court rooms — along with recent attacks — signal that the pro-Western kingdom has a more serious problem with home-grown extremism than it has acknowledged in public. "We have an extending of the network of IS in Jordan," not just among the poor, but also the middle class, said Mohammed Abu Rumman, an expert on extremists. "It is a minority but it is very dangerous."

The extremists underscored their reach last week when they launched a suicide attack from Syria, detonating a car bomb near a Jordanian border post and killing seven soldiers in the deadliest attack in the kingdom in years.

The Islamic State group's 2014 capture of large parts of neighboring Syria and Iraq sent jitters through Jordan. The U.S. spent millions of dollars to help the kingdom fortify its borders, and Jordan joined the U.S.-led anti-IS military coalition.