Al-Qaeda issued an Internet claim of responsibility yesterday for three suicide bomb attacks on Western hotels that killed at least 56 people, linking the deadly blasts to the war in Iraq and calling Amman the "backyard garden" for US operations.
Police continued a broad security lockdown and authorities sent DNA samples for testing to identify the attackers. Land borders were re-opened after being closed for nearly 12 hours.
Government spokesman Bassel Tarawneh lowered the death toll by one, citing confusion in the early hours after the blasts.
PHOTO: AFP
"But we expect the number to rise as some of the injured -- at least two -- are in serious condition in hospital," he said.
He said the victims included 15 Jordanians, one Saudi, one Palestinian, five Iraqis, three Chinese, one Indonesian and 30 others whose identification has not yet been determined. A Palestinian official in Jordan reported two top security officials died in the blast.
The nearly simultaneous attacks late on Wednesday also wounded more than 115 people, police said. They detained several people overnight, although it was unclear if those being held were suspects or witnesses.
The al-Qaeda claim, posted on a militant Internet site, said Jordan became a target 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." The claim could not be independently verified.
The claim of responsibility, signed in the name of the spokesman for al-Qaeda in Iraq, said the attacks put the US on notice that the "backyard camp for the crusader army is now in the range of fire of the holy warriors."
Iraqi government spokesman Laith Kubba said the attack should alert Jordan that it needed to stop playing host to former members of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's regime.
He also said Iraqis may have had a hand in the attacks.
"I'm not ruling out any participation of Iraqi elements in the Amman attacks because the al-Qaeda organization has become as a plague that affected Iraq and is now transmitted by the same rats to other countries. A lot of Iraqis, especially former intelligence and army officers, joined this criminal cell," Kubba said.
Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher had said shortly after the blasts that al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi 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."
In the attacks, the suicide bombers detonated explosives at the Grand Hyatt, Radisson SAS and Days Inn hotels just before 9pm. One of the explosions took place inside a hall where 300 guests were celebrating a wedding.
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