Amman, Jordan ? A gunman opened fire on Western tourists at Roman ruins in the heart of Jordan’s capital Monday, killing a British man and wounding six people before being overpowered. Police said the attacker came from the same area as the slain leader of al-Qaida in Iraq.

The attack at an ancient amphitheater came despite a heavy clampdown on security in this key U.S. ally since a string of deadly bombings at hotels last November that al Qaida in Iraq claimed to have staged.

Government spokesman Nasser Judeh said that investigations showed that the assault was an “individual act” and that the gunmen had “no links with domestic or foreign” terror networks.

He spoke after a security official, speaking on condition of anonymity over concerns of harming the probe, said police were trying to determine if the gunman, Nabeel Ahmed Issa Jaourah, was enticed by Islamic militants or terror networks to carry out his mission.

The official said Jaourah, 38, is from Rusaifa, a village outside Zarqa, the hometown of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq who was killed June 7 when a U.S. warplane bombed his hideout in Iraq. Zaqra is an industrial town northeast of Amman that is a hub for extremist Muslims.

The official described Jaourah as a Jordanian of Palestinian origin who worked as a metal welder. He is believed to be an observant Muslim who once wore a beard – traditional among some conservative Muslims – but he was clean-shaven when he carried out the assault, the official added.

Jordanian policemen stand guard near the Roman amphitheater in Amman, Jordan. A Jordanian gunman on Monday shot at a group of foreign tourists visiting the amphitheater, killing a British man and wounding six other people including a police officer, officials said.

It was the first major terror attack in Jordan since the triple hotel bombings in the capital last November that killed 63 people, including three suicide bombers.

“This is a cowardly terrorist attack, which we regret took place on Jordanian soil,” said Interior Minister Eid al-Fayez. “This operation is considered a terrorist act unless the man is found to be deranged.”

The gunman struck just outside the entrance to the popular amphitheater ruins in downtown Amman about 12:30 p.m., said one witness, Mohammad Jawad Ali, an Iraqi.

The attacker shouted “Allahu akbar,” or God is great, as he ran past the tourists, firing at them from behind. Then he turned around, facing them, and continued to shoot, the security official said.

He said bystanders, including Iraqi refugees, helped two tourist police capture the assailant, who tried to flee.

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said she was “extremely saddened” by the shooting. “Acts of violence such as this are as senseless as they are callous,” she said in a statement.

The dead man was identified only as a 30-year-old British man. Al-Fayez said the wounded included two British women, a Dutch man, an Australian woman, a woman from New Zealand and a Jordanian tourist police officer.