A car bomb outside a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan killed six soldiers on Tuesday in a remote desert area where hundreds have been held for screening for suspected Takfiri links.

A car bomb outside a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan killed six soldiers on Tuesday in a remote desert area where hundreds have been held for screening for suspected Takfiri links.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Jordan is part of the US-led coalition fighting the ISIL Takfiris group in neighboring Syria and Iraq, and has been targeted by extremists before.

The army said the bombing killed four border guards, one member of the security services and one member of the civil defense.

Fourteen soldiers were wounded in the attack, a security official told AFP, adding that the number of dead might rise.

The army said the bomb struck at 5:30 am (0230 GMT) in Rukban, on the Syrian border in the far northeast of the kingdom.

The military said it had destroyed several "enemy" vehicles at the border, without elaborating.

A security source said the vehicle used in the attack had crossed over from Syria and was moving at the time of the explosion, which suggests it was a suicide bombing.

Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh condemned the "cowardly attack."
"Terrorists strike again this time against our border guard," he tweeted on his official account. "This evil will be defeated."

The US embassy in Amman denounced the attack and pledged "unwavering support" for the armed forces of its key ally.

"We join the Jordanian people in their resilience and determination in the face of this cowardly terrorist act. The United States stands together with Jordan," it said.

The bombing comes two weeks after a gunman killed five Jordanian intelligence officers in a Palestinian refugee camp north of the capital.

A suspect was later arrested but details of the attack have been kept under a gag order while the investigation continues.

Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees have sought shelter at two remote desert camps in the northeast -- one at Rukban and another at Handalat further west.

A flare-up in the five-year war in Syria sparked a new influx of refugees in the area last month, with nearly 5,500 arriving at Rukban within days in early May.