A Jordanian policeman has shot dead two American instructors and a South African at a police training centre outside Amman, officials say.

Government spokesman Mohammad Momani said the assailant wounded two other Americans and four Jordanians, before being killed by his fellow officers.

Jordanian security sources earlier said that the gunman had killed himself.

The US-funded Jordan International Police Training Centre (JIPTC) hosts mainly Palestinian and Iraqi officers.

US contractors are sent to the facility in Muwaqqar, on the eastern outskirts of Amman, to assist Jordanian police trainers.

Mr Momani told the official Petra news agency that the shooting was a “crime” and said an investigation had been launched.

The attacker was a senior trainer with the rank of captain, a Jordanian security source was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The US embassy in Amman wrote on Twitter that it had received reports about the incident at the JIPTC.

“We are in contact with the appropriate Jordanian authorities, who have offered their full support. We will report more info when available,” it added.

(BBC)