At least 53 people have been killed and more than 300 injured in explosions at international hotels in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

The Grand Hyatt, Radisson and Days Inn hotels were hit in near-simultaneous blasts just before 2100 (1900GMT).

Police say they suspect the attacks were carried out by suicide bombers.

see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4423008.stm

Al Qaeda blamed for Jordan blasts

10.11.05 4.00pm

BERLIN - Suicide bombs that shattered three Jordanian hotels today look like the work of al Qaeda and militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, security analysts say.

At least 57 people died in the attacks in the capital Amman.

The pro-Western, moderate Arab state presents a hugely appealing target for al Qaeda, which is committed to bringing down such governments across the Middle East.

It has efficient and well-regarded intelligence services, boasts close security ties with the United States, hosts one of the largest US embassies in the region and occupies a strategic position next door to Iraq, where Washington is battling an insurgency whose most prominent leader is Zarqawi.

"The Jordanians have allowed the Americans to use their country as a staging post in the global war on terrorism," said David Claridge of London-based consulting group Janusian Security Risk Management, which maintains an office in Jordan.

"There's a very strong suspicion this is to do with Iraq ... The balance of probability is it's very likely to have been Zarqawi."

Claridge said Jordan had in recent days announced its intention to send an ambassador to Iraq. Al Qaeda has targeted foreign diplomats in Iraq and set out to prevent Arab countries from sending envoys.

Jordan is also a tempting target for al Qaeda in its own right, as a relatively open, secular society aspiring to be a modern, pro-Western business hub -- the antithesis of the fundamentalist Islamist society cherished by Osama bin Laden.

Danny Yatom, former head of Israel's Mossad intelligence service, told Channel One television there: "Jordan is a focus point for radical Islamic terrorism ... groups whose over-riding aim is to hit at anything that smells of Westernism. This is true regarding Muslim regimes considered moderate, such as in Jordan and Egypt."

Sebestyen Gorka, a security analyst based in Hungary but familiar with Jordan, said: "It is clear Jordan is right up there amongst the most attractive targets for al Qaeda."

He agreed that Zarqawi, himself a Jordanian, would immediately enter the frame as a chief suspect.

Zarqawi was identified as the brains behind a major al Qaeda bomb plot intercepted by Jordanian authorities in April 2004, which they said would have targeted the prime minister's office, the intelligence headquarters and the US embassy, releasing deadly chemicals across Amman.

The accused ringleader was shown confessing on television and saying he had taken orders from Zarqawi.

The security analysts noted Zarqawi had been dedicated since the start of his militant career in the early 1990s to overthrowing the Jordanian monarchy and establishing an Islamist state in his native country.

His militant group, Bayt al-Imam, was smashed by Jordanian security forces and he was jailed for 15 years in 1996, but then freed under an amnesty when King Abdullah assumed the throne three years later.

"This clearly would be something very personal to him -- not just ideological, but a grudge match," Gorka said.

Hotels have been a popular soft target for Islamist militant groups in the past few years, from Indonesia to Kenya and Egypt. Claridge said that while Amman hotels have barriers to prevent car bombings, they do not as a rule have a highly visible security presence.

A US counterterrorism official in Washington said one of the three hotels, the Radisson, was targeted for attack as part of a thwarted millennium plot in which al Qaeda planned assaults on several sites at the start of 2000.

"Al Qaeda and those guys like to go back to places they've missed or where they weren't so successful the first time around," the official said.

The official said Zarqawi's long history of militant activity against Jordan provided circumstantial evidence of a possible role. He noted a Jordanian court has convicted Zarqawi in absentia and sentenced him to death for the 2002 shooting of American diplomat Laurence Foley in Amman.

- REUTERS

Just goes to show, even Muslims aren't safe from attacks by other (more extremist) Muslims, especially if they (the extremists) don't think they (the moderates) are quite "Muslim" enough.

Although this type of attack is supposedly forbidden by the Koran (it isn't actually), that obviously hasn't stopped those that use the religion as an excuse to try and grab power.

This isn't about the Palestinians, or the Americans being in Iraq, or the Crusades 700+ years ago.

This is about the lust for power, pure and simple. Wanting the ability to force your way of thinking onto other people.

There is an old saying. "Those that choose to ignore history, are doomed to repeat it"

This struggle for power has been going on since the dawn of man. We are now in a similar situation as the world was in back in 1936-38. Everyone knew Hitler was building up Germany's military, far beyond the limits set in the post-WW I treaties. Everyone turned a blind eye, not wanting to envision another world war scenario.

Even after annexing Czechoslovakia and Austria, nobody did anything. It wasn't until after he invaded Poland that the world finally took notice and tried to do something.

Al-Quaeda isn't Germany of course, not yet. They tried, while they were in Afghanistan, to set up the start of a new (Muslim) World Empire, but bit off more than they could chew when they hit the WTC towers. Not being very well educated in anything other than the Koran, they probably didn't realize just how far the US could reach when it decided to retaliate.

This isn't Europe in 1939. Where it used to take weeks to position men and equipment to mount an operation, now it can take days, or even hours.

Al-Queada is now using tactics that worked in Vietnam. Small groups of coverts striking fear and terror where ever possible. Anyone who appears to be supportive of the "enemy" is a fair target (as the Jordanians just found out). The aim is to make resistance to them so costly (in terms of money and life) that eventually all opposition ceases and they have their victory (much like Vietnam).

Once they gain that power, woe to those that dare to defy them in any way. Human rights ? Ha, not even a consideration. Free Speech ? Not if you value your head ? Equal Rights ? Well, with no consideration for Human Rights or things like Free Speech, it's hardly likey they would give any thought to rights about anything, unless it suits their purpose.

What is interesting is Jordan has one of the most sophisticated intellegence services - right after the Mossad and these guys got thru them.

What is interesting is Jordan has one of the most sophisticated intellegence services - right after the Mossad and these guys got thru them.

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Actually, I'm not really surprised by that. It is widely suspected that Pakistan's Intelligence Service is still supporting the Taliban, just a little more covertly than before. This despite the goverment's publically stated position on the matter, and their half-hearted attempts to go after the terrorists that are using Pakistan as a training base and refuge.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that there are elements within Jordanian Intelligence that are supportive of what is going on in Iraq and other places. They may have had an idea that something was going to happen, and let it "slip" through the cracks so to speak.

Chinese Police Warns of Possible Terror Attacks

U.S. diplomats say that Chinese police have warned luxury hotels in China of possible terrorist attacks sometime next week. The warning Wednesday comes as preparations for President Bush's visit to Beijing later this month are under way.

Maybe he should stay home?

Not surprised either - let's face it - pretty much anywhere can be a target. Suicide bombers are pretty much unstoppable.

Going to be in Jordan next month Only for a 6 hours connection though

These depraved attacks should be a wake-up call to those who have temporized about fighting terror, and to those who have dignified murder of civilians as "resistance" and extolled the perpetrators as martyrs.

Terrorism did not begin in Jordan, and it did not begin with last night's attacks. It has been carefully nurtured and coddled for many years. UN resolutions and Arab League resolutions characterized massacre of innocent civilians as part of the "legitimate right to resistance". Foolish would-be intellectuals praised suicide bombers as altruists. Imams abused religious authority and freedom of expression to encourage acts of terror. Governments, peace organizations and human rights groups have been mostly silent. The UN is still working on its convention against terror. Unless we all do something, they will probably still be working on it when Al-Qaeda blows up the UN.

Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed "credit" for these acts in a demented announcement that stated the attacks were directed against "enemies of the faith, the Jews and crusaders." The "enemies of the faith" that they killed included four Palestinian officials and many Jordanians attending a wedding reception. Al-Qaeda and all others like them are enemies of all faiths and all decent people.

Attacks such as these make a mockery of Richard Pape's fantasies - http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2005/s1418817.htm - that suicide attacks are related to occupation and oppression. Jordan doesn't occupy any country. Jordan has no soldiers in Iraq. Jordan's only crime is that it opposes Al-Qaeda and other terror groups.

ordanians Mourn, Protest After Bombings

AMMAN, Jordan - Hundreds of angry Jordanians rallied Thursday outside one of three U.S.-based hotels attacked by suicide bombers, shouting, "Burn in hel_l, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi!" after the terrorist's group claimed responsibility for the blasts that killed at least 56 people. At least one American was killed and two were wounded, the U.S. Embassy said.

One of the bombers spoke with an Iraqi accent, a top security official said. The middle-aged man was stopped by suspicious Grand Hyatt hotel security before detonating explosives hidden under his suit, the official said.

Authorities also reported arresting a number of Iraqis as security forces scrambled to capture anyone behind the attacks at the Grand Hyatt, Radisson SAS and Days Inn hotels before they could flee the country. Police continued a broad security lockdown and authorities sent DNA samples to identify the attackers.

About 50 Jordanians, including children carrying small flags, placed burning candles on a sand memorial in the driveway of the Grand Hyatt as darkness fell.

The Amman protest was organized by Jordan's 14 professional and trade unions — made up of both hard-line Islamic groups and leftist political organizations — traditional critics of King Abdullah II's moderate, pro-Western policies.

Protesters shouted, "Death to al-Zarqawi, the villain and the traitor!" Honking vehicles were decorated with Jordanian flags and posters of the king. A helicopter hovered overhead.

"We sacrifice our lives for you, Amman!" the protesters chanted.

Other rallies were held across the kingdom, including the Red Sea port of Aqaba, where attackers using Katyusha rockets narrowly missed a U.S. ship and killed a Jordanian soldier in August. Others were in al-Zarqawi's hometown of Zarqa and the southern city of Maan, which is a known hub for Muslim fundamentalists.

Amman's streets were deserted early Thursday, which was declared a day of mourning. Public and private offices were closed under government instructions, apparently to allow tightened security measures to take hold.

"We also need to really send a strong message that terror, that terrorist attacks on civilians should not be justified for any reason," Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher told CNN. "This culture of bombing people for whatever reason or whatever cause should not be justified."

The date of Wednesday's attack, Nov. 9, would be written as 9/11 in the Middle East, which puts the day before the month. A Jordanian government spokesman declined to speculate on its meaning. But Jordanians were sending text messages that read: "Have you noticed that today is 9-11, similar to America's 11-9?"

In Washington,President Bush condemned the bombings, saying the attackers defiled Islam and the United States would help bring those responsible to justice.

"The killings should remind all of us that there is an enemy in this world that is willing to kill innocent people, willing to bomb a wedding celebration in order to advance their cause," Bush said in the Oval Office.

Government spokesman Bassel Tarawneh said the bombers killed 56 people but that number likely would rise. In addition to the American, the victims included 33 Jordanians, six Iraqis, two Bahrainis, two Chinese, one Saudi and one Indonesian. He could not identify the rest.

The Palestinian envoy to Amman said the victims included two high-ranking Palestinian security officials, a senior Palestinian banker and the commercial attache at the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo, Egypt.

Maj.-Gen. Bashir Nafeh, the head of military intelligence in theWest Bank, and Col. Abed Allun, a high-ranking Preventive Security forces official, were killed in the Grand Hyatt attack, Ambassador Attala Kheri told The Associated Press.

An east Jerusalem businessman, Bashar Qadoumi, also was killed, his family said.

Tarawneh said 96 people were wounded, although police said more than 115 were hurt. The official Petra news agency quoted doctors who treated the injured as saying many wounds were inflicted by ball bearings used in the bombs.

In an Internet statement, al-Qaida in Iraq linked the blasts to the war in Iraq and called Amman the "backyard garden" for U.S. operations.

The al-Qaida claim said Jordan was targeted because it was "a backyard garden for the enemies of the religion, Jews and crusaders ... a filthy place for the traitors ... and a center for prostitution." Its authenticity could not be independently verified, but it appeared on an Islamic Web site that is a clearinghouse for statements by militant groups.

The claim said the attacks put the United States on notice that the "backyard camp for the crusader army is now in the range of fire of the holy warriors."

The hotels, frequented by Israelis and Americans among other foreign guests, have long been on al-Qaida's hit list.

In Rome, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said the attacks were a wake-up call for Jordan, where he claimed some militants in Iraq draw support.

"Unfortunately, there are still some groups in Jordan supporting terrorist criminals, describing them as the resistance, and they are deceived by their claims," Talabani said. "I think this will help every Jordanian understand that this is the real face of terrorism."

Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi said she did not believe al-Qaida "or any of these violent extremists have had support among mainstream Arab opinion at all. Now they are making sure they are turning everyone against them."

Initial police reports showed that the Grand Hyatt bomber possibly was Iraqi, a Jordanian security official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. When stopped by hotel security in the lobby, the man said in an Iraqi accent that he was "looking around."

The bomber then detonated explosives under his suit. The official said hotel cameras recorded some footage of him.

In Amman, a security official said authorities were pursuing tips about possible sleeper cells or individuals who may have assisted the attackers and later fled in a vehicle bearing Iraqi license plates.

Muasher said al-Zarqawi, who has a $25 million U.S. bounty on his head, was a "prime suspect." The Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi is known for his animosity to the country's Hashemite monarchy. The claim of responsibility did not name Abdullah but twice referred to the "tyrant of Jordan."

The suicide bombers struck just before 9 p.m. One explosion occurred in a hall at the Radisson where 300 guests were celebrating the wedding of Ashraf Akhras and Nadia Alami, both Palestinians. They survived, but their fathers and 11 other relatives were killed.

Ibrahim Akhras, the groom's cousin, said he had left the hotel to buy flowers and was just returning when the blast went off.

"I found huge devastation in the hall. I saw bodies and blood. The ceiling of the hall collapsed over the people, and I saw kids and women screaming in their blood," he said.

"No religion, no Islam, no Muslim people allow this to happen."

In the West Bank village of Silet al-Thaher, the Akhras clan set up a house of mourning, and 35-year-old Najah Akhras, who lost two young nieces, cried: "Oh my God, oh my God! Is it possible that Arabs are killing Arabs, Muslims killing Muslims? For what did they do that?"

Police spokesman Maj. Bashir al-Da'aja said the attacker at the Days Inn tried to detonate himself inside the hotel lobby, but his bomb did not go off until he rushed outside. Initial reports said the hotel was attacked by a car bomb.

Until late Wednesday, Amman — a comfortable, hilly city of white stone villas and glitzy high-rises — had mostly avoided large-scale attacks and was a welcome sanctuary of stability in a troubled region.

Al-Zarqawi is most known for devastating suicide attacks in Iraq, often against U.S. targets but also against Shiite Iraqis. He has shown a flair for propaganda and drawn wide support among militants in the region.

But outside Iraq, and especially in Jordan, he has been equally active.

He was sentenced to death in absentia by a Jordanian military court for the 2002 assassination of a U.S. diplomat, Laurence Foley, in Amman.

His group also is accused of previously trying to blow up the Radisson as part of the so-called Millennium plot in 1999 and of orchestrating the August attack at Aqaba.

AP News

By JAMAL HALABY

10 Nov 2005

Suicide Bombers Are People, Too

MSNBC/Newsweek says, Suicide Bombers Are People, Too, as they promote an ugly, blatant, morally bankrupt piece of propaganda.

Yes, they’re people too. Psychotic people who blow themselves up to commit mass murder.

Hitler, Mao, Stalin and Pol Pot were people as well…

While it's terrible news, it can hopefully serve as a wake-up call for Muslims balancing on the edge of supporting Al-Quaida.

While it's terrible news, it can hopefully serve as a wake-up call for Muslims balancing on the edge of supporting Al-Quaida.

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Al Queda is trying to tap dance their way out of this one.