Six tourists were injured after an armed man opened fire on their bus in the capital of Jordan, officials said.

The attacker shot himself in the head as he was pursued by police near a Roman amphitheatre in Amman late on Wednesday.

Nasser Judeh, Jordan's information minister, said that the man was in a critical condition in hospital.

He also told the Associated Press news agency that the shooting appeared to be a "criminal" incident and was not politically motivated.

"The police investigation is still under way, but preliminary information points to the fact that this is an isolated incident," he said.

In September 2006, a man shot at a group of Western tourists outside the same amphitheatre, killing a British man and wounding six other people.

The previous year suicide bombings at three hotels in Amman killed at least 63 people.