The United States and Jordan have unveiled a counter-terrorism training center, 70 kilometers south of Amman. The center in Suwaqah is connected to the Jordanian Police Academy. The purpose is to prepare local forces to cope with crisis management, hostage-taking, cyber-terrorism and the detection of explosives. It's the second such center launched by the US and Jordan. The first, named after King Abdullah the Second, opened in 2009 in Zarqa, east of Amman. Jordan is one of the US's strongest allies in the Middle East. The US deputy secretary of state for diplomatic security spoke of the importance of the anti-terrorism assistance program in helping save lives.