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If there's one lesson to be learned here, it's that people don't like getting blowed up.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/...sts/index.html
Terror attacks spark fury in Jordan
Amman stunned by suicide bombings
Thursday, November 10, 2005; Posted: 3:06 p.m. EST (20:06 GMT)
AMMAN, Jordan (CNN) -- Three terror bombings that killed at least 56 people in Jordan's capital sparked furious protests against al Qaeda on Thursday after a Web site carried a claim that the group was behind the attacks.
Jordanians flooded Amman blaring car horns and waving the nation's flag to protest the suicide attacks at three hotels with Western connections.
Hundreds of angry Jordanians rallied shouting, "Burn in , Abu Musab al-Zarqawi!" after the terrorist group he leads claimed responsibility for the blasts.
The Wednesday attacks at the Grand Hyatt, Radisson and Days Inn hotels in downtown Amman took their greatest toll on a wedding party. (Watch what the explosion left behind -- 4:39)
The wedding reception of Ashraf al-Akhras and his bride Nadia Alami at the Radisson was targeted by one of the bombers. The explosion killed both of their fathers, a number of guests and wounded the newlyweds.
"There were between 250 and 280 people in the wedding party. The suicide bomber blew himself up as the bride and groom prepared to enter the ballroom," Radisson senior manager Bassem al-Banna told Agence France-Presse.
Some Middle Eastern nations are accustomed to suicide bombings, but Jordan is not. Wednesday's blasts that wounded more than 100 people shook the country's confidence about its security.
National leaders convened shortly after the explosions.
"This is something that Jordan is not used to," Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher said, taking a break from the meeting. "Obviously, we are not happy about what happened and we are going to take whatever measures we can to guard against these terrorist activities."
Jordanian television, government offices and schools closed Thursday to regroup after the attacks.
'Bodies and blood all over'
Randa Jaaqoub said she was in the Grand Hyatt's lobby with her fiance when that blast occurred.
"Everything just exploded, and we had fire and smoke all over," the Jordanian American from Chicago said. "We saw the bodies and blood all over."
Outside the Days Inn, Anwar Dabass said he "saw three people in the street. They weren't dead. They were moving. We were one of the first people there and there were some body parts in the street."
Protesters also rejected the idea that the explosions were carried out to protect Islam.
Groom al-Akhras said, "The world has to know that this has nothing to do with Islam."
Al Qaeda in Iraq boasts of attack
Al-Zarqawi's Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility for the bombings in a Web site posting, and linked them to its Islamist beliefs.
The Pentagon has had a $25 million bounty on his head since 2004. (Watch where and how a terrorist came of age -- 4:02)
CNN cannot verify the authenticity of the Web site claims, but U.S. intelligence officials said they "view that claim as credible."
CNN also has learned from a source with detailed knowledge of the investigation that two of the bombers have been identified as Iraqis, prompting Jordanian police to narrow their focus on possible facilitators they believe are still in the country.
The Web site posting boasts that the attacks happened at "retreats that were planted in the land of Muslims in Amman" -- a reference to the hotels that Westerners frequents.
It continues: "After studying the targets and watching, we chose the places to carry the mission on some of the hotels, which the Jordanian dictator turned into a backyard for the enemies of faith -- the Jews and the Crusaders."
Jordan's King Abdullah II has close relationships with Israel and the United States.
Pentagon officials said that before the explosions, a former hostage revealed that his captors had talked about such attacks on Western targets.
But Jordanians accounted for most of the casualties from the Wednesday attacks, and Jordanian officials said they viewed the blasts as attacks against their country. The State Department said one American was among the dead and two were among the wounded.
A senior Jordanian intelligence said suicide attackers with explosive belts caused the blasts and contrary to earlier reports, no vehicles were involved.
Palestinian officials among dead
Jordanian Embassy officials in Washington said the blasts came without warning, and Jordanian government officials were not among the casualties.
Officials from other governments, however, were among the dead. Four Palestinians, including Maj. Gen. Bashir Nafeh, head of Palestinian military intelligence, died in the blast at the Grand Hyatt, said chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat.
Also killed was Col. Abed Allun; Jihad Fattouh, the brother of the Palestinian parliament speaker; and Mosab Khoma, Erakat said. The four were on their way back from Cairo, Egypt, he said, adding his condemnation of the attacks.
Three Chinese were killed and one wounded in the attacks, according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua, which cited a press release on the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Web site. They were members of a delegation from China's University of National Defense and were staying at one of the hotels, according to the report. The report did not specify which hotel.
Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
If there's one lesson to be learned here, it's that people don't like getting blowed up.
true true
Ok, but all they have right now is a post on a Islamic website. Is that all it takes to prove culpability now? I'm not saying that Arabs, radical Arabs, weren't most likely involved, but to be blaming it on Al-Queda of Iraq (whatever that is) is a bit premature.
It appears to be him......but even if it were not him. He can still burn in .
It's radical islam.. reguardless of flavor...
They been doing this kind of stuff for 1000's of years.
Bush is going after all of radical islam.. Either turn to peace or you will be defeated.
Ok, but all they have right now is a post on a Islamic website. Is that all it takes to prove culpability now? I'm not saying that Arabs, radical Arabs, weren't most likely involved, but to be blaming it on Al-Queda of Iraq (whatever that is) is a bit premature.
That's right Dan. It's the same web site Zarqawi uses to post all his other messages but it wasn't him.
It was obviously some CIA hacker planting the message to further Bush's quest for oil[/loony ass political forum hack]
It's retaliation for our offensive at the Syrian border. They even made a warning Stop the operation or there we be more terror. So I think they diverted from Syria down to Jordan.. Since the Marines and Army are shooting anything that moves from the Syria border right now.
al Qaeda.
I'll second that !!!!
I am pretty sure that I heard a couple days ago that some of the senior al Qaeda officials did not like how the bombing occured, with a wedding taking place.
Problem solved
About time.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051112/...rdan_explosion
Dan, you better get on the phone. AQ claimed responsibility again.
I don't get it isn't Jordan's pop mostly Muslim? Also, let's say a citizen(me) finds and captures Al-Zarqawi; I will GET 25 MIL right?
This points out the largest long-term weakness of our enemies:
They lack true moral authority because violent acts tend to turn people against you.
I really wish the idiots who think torture and keeping people forever without trials are good ideas would realize the true power of moral authority to win struggles.
The IRA lost a huge amount of any authority and support it had in Ireland after they bombed someplace and accidentally killed a busload of children.
The same thing generally happens over time with terroristic tactics. People eventually realize that the people using these tactics are simply violent sociopaths who don't really care as much about the cause they espouse as they do the violence they cause.
When we allow our government to do nasty things people think the same of us and we all become a bid less safe.
True victory and lasting safety in the "war" on terror will only be had through a moral and ethical foreign policy that stops playing realpolitik and deals with tyrants appropriately.
^^nice spin.(and no,.. i'm not talking about how you claim to be non partisan and independent) It's not how zarqawi's tactics are decreasing alqueda's support, it's who they are used against that is doing all this. THis incident proved nothing. The same thing happened to them like it did us in 9/11.
The jordanians were complacent with suicide bombings against israelis. But lo and behold it came and bit the jordanians in the rear and now they raise .
Nice try.
Dude, if they had just killed Americans or westerners, there wouldn't be near the outrage there is right now, especially seeings they blew up a Muslim wedding party. Idiots.
Anyway, you have to realize you're talking about part of the world where they've been at war with one another for over 1500 years, and the only time they stopped that was to fight with outsiders.
Get off the moral high horse, it's not really accurate.
in other words e20. Alqueda's use of terror bombings is not causing them bad PR. It's "who" they're using those methods against. The Sunnis in Iraq and the Jordanians.
It's unwise to kill your own people when you're trying to paint the occupation as an unholy one. You won't win.
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