CAIRO (AP) — An assailant attacked and killed a security officer near the Sri Lankan Embassy in Jordan’s capital Amman on Thursday, in what Jordanian authorities described as a terrorist act.

Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said that a member of its forces was assaulted with a sharp object and died “in a cowardly terrorist attack.” It said a preliminary investigation indicated the attacker had been “planning to commit the terrorist act against the officers of the General Security Directorate.”

Jordan’s state-run Al-Mamlaka TV reported that the assailant, who has been arrested, attempted to seize the weapon from the security officer who was killed. A second security officer intervened, and both the assailant and the second officer sustained injuries, Al-Mamlaka said.

The Sri Lankan Embassy confirmed the attack took place in its vicinity, but didn't elaborate.

The attack comes weeks after gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in southern Jordan, killing nine people and wounding dozens more.