AMMAN, Nov 10: A policeman and two civilians were killed and another three people seriously injured in a southern city on Sunday as Jordanian special troops clashed with hundreds of armed youths in a major sweep to round up religious hardliners protesting the government’s support to US plans for an invasion of Iraq.

Authorities imposed a curfew on the city of Maan late in the night as the violence threatened to get out of control.

“Two people have been confirmed dead, a Maan resident and a policeman. Two more civilians and a policeman have also been seriously wounded,” a spokesman said, adding that the casualty toll could rise.

Maan, 322kms south of Amman, is a traditional stronghold of religious hardliners. Known as a trouble spot, it has been the scene of pro-Iraq demonstrations and in years past, violent civil unrest.

Witnesses said heavy gunfire broke out at dawn between masked armed youths and police after the troops stormed into Maan, allegedly in search of militants linked to the killer of a US diplomat who was assassinated two weeks ago.

They said the fiercest fighting took place in the city’s main Palestinian commercial street downtown and near a government hospital.

Information Minister Mohammad Adwan vowed that the security forces would press on with the manhunt for wanted hardliners despite the mounting casualties which have sparked condemnation in parliament.

“A curfew has been imposed on the town and the security forces will press ahead with their manhunt until they arrest the five ringleaders of the armed band,” he said.

The minister said foreigners, not all of them Arabs, were among around 20 people detained by the troops.

Anti-riot police, backed by armoured vehicles, started taking positions inside the city on Saturday. The authorities cut fixed telephone lines on Sunday and the city of 40,000 was under effective curfew, with all government offices and schools closed.—Reuters