GID dismantles domestic missile production plan linked to outlawed group

Jordan Times

16-04-2025

AMMAN — Jordan TV on Tuesday aired an investigative report revealing new details about a covert cell that had been working since 2021 to manufacture missiles inside the Kingdom.
The operation, described as a major national security threat, was dismantled by the General Intelligence Department (GID) in February 2025 following extensive surveillance and a covert sting operation.
According to the report, the cell was motivated by what authorities termed a "dark ideological agenda" and comprised three primary suspects, all of whom were arrested.
The group was led by Ibrahim Mohammad, identified as a member of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood organisation. Ibrahim was accused of initiating the missile production scheme and is currently on trial before the State Security Court in a separate case involving the transport and storage of approximately 30 kilogrammes of high explosives, including TNT, C4 and SEMTEX-H.
The report also revealed that Ibrahim had arranged for two of the suspects, Abdullah Hisham and Muath Ghanem, to travel to Lebanon, where they reportedly received training and guidance from a senior operative. A third member, Mohsen Ghanem, was allegedly in charge of coordinating the transfer of funds from abroad.
The cell established two main operational locations: a factory in Zarqa Governorate and a warehouse in Amman's Naqeera area. While some of the equipment was sourced locally, other critical machinery was smuggled into the country for illegal use, the report said.
The Naqeera warehouse functioned as the group's central hub, housing raw materials, prototype components and missile parts. A hidden room concealed behind a reinforced concrete door led to an underground chamber specifically designed to store the weapons. During raids on the suspects' residences, authorities discovered cylindrical and conical metal components, along with other geometrically shaped items.
According to technical experts cited in the report, when fully assembled, the parts formed short-range projectiles resembling Grad rockets. The prototypes lacked explosives, propulsion systems and fuses, but their estimated range was between 3 and 5 kilometres, posing a serious threat to domestic targets. Authorities believe the cell had the potential to manufacture up to 300 similar missiles using the recovered equipment.
Security forces had reportedly kept the cell under close surveillance for an extended period and decided to move in once the suspects completed a prototype rocket, marking a critical escalation in the group's activities, the report said.
The televised investigation included footage from the production and storage sites, the tools and machinery used, and excerpts from the suspects' video confessions, in which they recounted their activities both inside and outside the Kingdom.