A gunman today killed prominent Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar outside a court where he was facing charges for sharing a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam, state news agency Petra reported.

Hattar was struck by three bullets before the assailant was arrested, said Petra. Witnesses told AFP that a man had opened fire in front of the court in Amman's Abdali district.

The 56-year-old Christian was arrested on August 13 after posting a cartoon mocking jihadists on his Facebook account.

He was charged with inciting sectarian strife and insulting Islam before being released on bail in early September.

Jordan's attorney general had imposed a blackout on media coverage of the case.

Hattar removed the cartoon from his Facebook page after it triggered outrage on social media.

Jordan is a leading member of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group in neighbouring Iraq and Syria, and was the target of a June 21 suicide bombing that killed seven border guards.

The kingdom has carried out air strikes targeting IS jihadists and hosts coalition troops on its territory.