A Jordanian security officer has been killed and another wounded in a stabbing attack outside the Sri Lankan embassy in the capital, Amman.

Jordan’s Public Security Directorate (PSD) named the officer killed in Thursday’s attack as Corporal Jawad Ali Khalaf al-Salaita, a member of the diplomatic security unit assigned to guard the embassy.

In a statement, PSD spokesperson Colonel Amer al-Sartawi said a man surprised and stabbed the victim with a sharp object on Medina al-Munawwara Street at 12:20pm (09:20 GMT). A patrol then intervened. Al-Salaita was taken to hospital but died of his wounds.

Authorities have described the attack as a “cowardly terrorist act”.

Jordan’s state-run Al-Mamlaka TV reported that the assailant attempted to seize the weapon of the security officer who was killed. A second security officer intervened to stop him, and both the assailant and the second security officer sustained injuries, it added.

Security forces cordoned off a wide area around Medina al-Munawwara Street, a busy main road in west Amman. Al Jazeera’s Tamer al-Samadi said the attack was carried out in full view of passers-by.

Security sources told Al Jazeera that the attacker, born in 1994, stabbed al-Salaita in the neck while he was inside a guard booth protecting the embassy in the Sweifieh area. According to the sources, the attacker was carrying a dagger and a knife. A second lieutenant fought him, wounded him and took control of him before he could seize the gun, but was injured in the face during the struggle.

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Jordan’s PSD said a preliminary investigation indicated the attacker had been “planning to commit the terrorist act against the officers of the General Security Directorate”.

The wounded officer, born in 1988, was taken to Medical City Hospital. The PSD described his condition as stable. The attacker was taken to Dar Al Salam Hospital in critical condition.

Reporting from Aqaba, Al Jazeera’s al-Samadi said the attacker had a bag full of bladed weapons, according to preliminary investigations. Police, “counterterrorism units” and bomb disposal teams were sent to the scene.

“The information we have obtained clearly indicates that the perpetrator has terrorism records, as classified by the military State Security Court,” al-Samadi said. He reported that court files he had seen showed the attacker had been convicted years ago of joining what Jordanian authorities call “terrorist groups” and of conspiring to carry out “terrorist” acts in Jordan, and had served years in prison.

Jordan’s public prosecutor said in a statement that the State Security Court had opened an investigation into the attack.

Jordan’s minister of government communication said an attack on security personnel was “an attack on the prestige of the state and the rule of law, and an attack on every Jordanian”. He added that the government “will not tolerate any aggressor”.

The minister said the prime minister had urged officials to quickly uncover the circumstances and motives behind the attack.

State news agency Petra reported that King Abdullah II was personally following the investigation. The king and the crown prince are both abroad on official visits. Prince Faisal, acting as regent, was due to visit the wounded officer in hospital.

The attack comes weeks after gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in southern Jordan, killing nine people and wounding dozens more. The government also described that attack, in the city of Karak, as “terrorist”.

It was not immediately clear if the stabbing was related to the church attack.

King Abdullah said on Monday that “terrorists” would not be allowed to threaten the country’s unity and security, after the deadly church attack prompted Jordanian strikes in Syria.