"'Townsfolk first sighted the small, cat-like animal a month ago (June 1999) but then it started appearing on a nightly basis, devouring dozens of hens and pigeons,' said an official from the Mafraq governorate."
"The small-headed creature with disproportionately large eyes, teeth and tail was hunted down after townsfolk lodged complaints that the animal was prowling Mafraq's residential quarters by night."
"The official speculated that the animal could have been drawn to Mafraq, which lies on the edge of the (Hauran) desert 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Amman," the capital of Jordan, "bythis year's drought. The animal, nicknamed Al-Massara, has been handed to local vets (veterinarians--J.T.) to determine its species, but it was not known if it was the only such creature at large in the town." (See the National Post of Toronto for July 27, 1999, "Police end unidentified creature's reign of terror." See also UFO Newsclipping Service for August 1999. Many thanks to Lou Farish for this news story.)
(Editor's Comment: After I received this report, I did a little background research and came up with three interesting facts, which may or may not have anything to do with Al-Massara.
(1) The airport just north of al-Mafraq is the headquarters of a jet interceptor wing of the Royal Jordanian Air Force. The wing flies French-built Mirage 2000 fighters.
(2) Al-Mafraq contains the headquarters of the 2nd Mechanized Division of the Jordan Arab Army, which consists of two mechanized infantry brigades and a tank brigade.
(3) About 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of al-Mafraq, across the Wadi az-Zatari, lie the ruins of Umm al-Jimal, a mysterious pre- Canaanite city with buildings made of black basalt. The ruined city was first found by the Romans in 175 A.D. The inhabitants fled after a catastrophic earthquake in 747 A.D., and it became a ghost town after that.
More importantly, where is Al-Massara?
Probably in Camp Condon...in the same
Quonset hut with the Varginha Seven.)
From: UFO ROUNDUP 9-16-1999.
Islamic UFO files, by Alfredo Lissoni,
Italy's National UFO Center.