US officials reported as saying Jordan could ask Jerusalem and the U.S. for assistance if the Islamist insurgents pursue a military assault on the Hashemite Kingdom.

Israel and the US may be prepared to aid Jordan as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) eyes the Jewish state’s eastern neighbor, The Daily Beast on Saturday quoted US officials as saying.

Jordanian special forces stage anti-terrorism drill in Amman. – Photo: REUTERS

US officials speaking on condition of anonymity have speculated that if ISIS were to pursue a full-on assault on Jordan, Amman might not be able to repel the Islamists.

The official said that in such an event, the Jordanians “will ask Israel and the United States for as much help as they can get.”

“Behind the scenes, Israeli diplomats have told their American counterparts that Israel would be prepared to take military action to save the Hashemite Kingdom,” the Daily Beast reported.

ISIS, with its recent takeover of the only Iraqi border crossing to Jordan, set off alarm bells that the latter country could be the next to find itself engulfed in jihadist mayhem.

However, Jordanian officials and experts are downplaying the chances of the Iraqi scenario repeating itself in their country.

The report quoted a spokeswoman for the Jordanian Embassy in Washington, Dana Daoud, as saying, “We [Jordan] are in full control of our borders and our Jordanian Armed Forces are being very vigilant.

“We have taken all the precautionary measures. So far, we have not detected any abnormal movement.

However, if anything threatens our security or gets near our borders it will face the full strength of our Jordanian Armed Forces,” she added.

The more likely threat, they say, comes from an internal terrorist insurgency, rather than ISIS overrunning its border.

View original Jerusalem Post publication at: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Report-Israel-US-prepared-to-help-Jordan-fight-ISIS-360848