Five people, including three tourists, were wounded in a knife attack in Jordan on Wednesday, a security spokesman said, adding that the assailant had been apprehended.

"Around noon, a man attacked tourists, a tour guide and a security officer who tried to stop him in Jerash,” a spokesman for the public security directorate said in a statement.

"The wounded were transported to hospital for treatment," he said, before adding, "the assailant was immediately arrested”.

Latest reports say there were three Mexicans and one Swiss hurt in the attack.

Jerash is home to one of the world’s best-preserved Roman cities and a major draw for tourists who are a lifeline for the Jordanian economy.