2005 Amman bombings
| 2005 Amman bombings | |
|---|---|
 Amman, the capital city of Jordan |
|
| Location | Amman, Jordan |
| Target(s) | Three hotels |
| Date | 9 November 2005 began 20:50 (UTC+2) |
| Attack type | Suicide bombings |
| Deaths | 60, plus 3 suicide bombers |
| Injured | 115 |
| Perpetrator(s) | Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi; Abu Khabib, Abu Muaz, Abu Omaira and Om Omaira |
| Attacks by al-Qaeda |
|---|
| 1st
WTC – PR Flight 434 – African embassies – USS
Cole – Rizal Day – 2nd WTC/Pentagon/Shanksville – Ghriba – Limburg –
Mombasa – Riyadh – Casablanca –
Istanbul – Madrid –
2nd Khobar – Sinai –
1st London – 2nd
London – Sharm el-Sheikh – Amman – Dahab Other Al-Qaeda-connected attacks: Iraq – Algeria |
The 2005 Amman bombings were a series of coordinated bomb attacks on three hotels in Amman, Jordan on November 9, 2005. Al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attacks which killed 60 people and injured 115 others. The explosions, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, the Radisson SAS Hotel, and the Days Inn, started at around 20:50 local time (18:50 UTC) at the Grand Hyatt. [1][2]
The three hotels are often frequented by Western military contractors and diplomats. The bomb at the Radisson SAS exploded in the Philadelphia Ballroom, where a wedding hosting almost 300 guests was taking place. In addition to killing a total of 38 people [3], the explosion destroyed the ballroom, blew out the large windows bordering the street, and knocked down ceiling panels. The hotel lobby was also affected: ceiling panels and light fixtures collapsed, furniture was destroyed, and the hotel's glass doors were shattered. Cleanup and rebuilding commenced shortly afterwards.
The bomb that exploded in the lobby or lobby bar of the Grand Hyatt Amman was equally devastating. It destroyed the hotel's entrance and brought down pillars and ceiling tiles, along with badly damaging the reception and bar areas. Hyatt began cleanup shortly after the attacks and reopened their hotel on November 19.
The attacks
| 2005 Amman bombings Casualties | |||
| Place | Deaths | Injured | Sources |
| Radisson SAS blast | 36 | ? | (AP) |
| Grand Hyatt blast | 9 | ? | (AP) |
| Days Inn blast | 3 | ? | (AP) |
| In hospitals | 12 | ? | (AP) |
| Total | 60+ | 115 | |
| +Excludes the 3 suicide bombers | |||
Radisson SAS
At the Radisson SAS Hotel, two suicide bombers (a husband and wife team: Ali Hussein Ali al-Shamari and Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi) entered the Philadelphia Ballroom, where Ashraf Akhras and his bride, Nadia Al-Alami, were celebrating their wedding with around 900 Jordanian and Palestinian guests. Sajida al-Rishawi was unable to detonate her belt. Her husband Ali al-Shamari, apparently admonished her and told her to get out of the room. As she was leaving, the lights went out in the ballroom, Ali jumped onto a dining room table and detonated himself. Amongst the 38 people killed in the explosion, were the fathers of the bride and groom.
Grand Hyatt
The second blast happened about 500 yards from the Radisson SAS. After the bomber ordered orange juice in the hotel's coffee shop, he went to another room—possibly to get his explosive belt—and then came back and detonated. Seven hotel employees were killed in this blast, as were Syrian-American movie producer Moustapha Akkad and his daughter, Rima. [4]
Days Inn
At the Days Inn the bomber entered the restaurant on the hotel's ground floor. He tried to detonate his explosive belt but had trouble; a waiter noticed this and called security. The bomber ran outside of the hotel and successfully detonated himself, killing three members of a Chinese military delegation.
Property damage at the Days Inn is expected to amount to around $200,000, according to Khaled Abu Ghoush, general manager of the property. He said lost revenue due to the disrupted business is expected to total around $50,000 and be covered by insurance. [5]
Casualties
According to one Jordanian official, Maj. Bashir al-Da'aja, early in the investigation, local authorities confirmed a series of coordinated suicide attacks as the cause of the blasts. Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Marwan al-Muasher initially announced that at least 67 people have died and 300 people have been injured. However, the Jordanian government subsequently revised the number of casualties down to at least 59 dead and 115 injured. The adjustment in figures was not explained.
Among the dead were thirty-six Jordanians, six Iraqis, five Palestinians, four Americans, two Arab-Israelis [6], two Bahrainis, three Chinese delegates of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), one Saudi, and one
Indonesian citizen. The Palestinian fatalities included Major-General Bashir Nafeh, the head
of military intelligence in the West Bank, Colonel Abed Allun, a high-ranking Preventive
Security forces official, Jihad Fatouh, the commercial attache at the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo, and Mosab Khorma, a senior Palestinian-American banker and former Paltel CEO. Both of the Israeli
fatalities were Arabs. One was Husam Fathi Mahajna, a businessman from
Umm al-Fahm, the other was an unidentified resident of East
Jerusalem. Syrian-American
There were rumors that several Israeli citizens were evacuated prior to the blast, although two were fatally injured in the blasts. [7]
Suspects
Jordanian police initially stated that there were at least four attackers (the fourth, a female, was later captured), including a couple, who spoke Iraqi-accented Arabic. A number of Iraqis were among the more than 100 suspects who were arrested in the following days. Police claimed to have found maps that were used in planning the attack. [8]
On November 12, Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher [9] said that the attacks were carried out by Jordanian-born Zarqawi's group. According to Jordanian officials, the attackers were Iraqi and had entered the country three days before the attacks, and there were only three attackers.
November 13, King Abdullah announced the arrest of a woman believed to be a fourth would-be suicide bomber, whose explosive belt failed to detonate. The three dead suicide bombers have been identified [10], and their names were announced by Deputy Prime Minister Muasher. They were Ali Hussein Ali al-Shamari (SAS Radisson), Rawad Jassem Mohammed Abed (Grand Hyatt), and Safaa Mohammed Ali (Days Inn). The woman in custody has been identified as Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi. She was married to al-Shamari and intended to blow herself up at the Radisson. Muasher also said that she was the sister of a close aide of al-Zarqawi.
Source of the attacks
An Internet statement released the day after, purportedly from Al-Qaeda in Iraq, claimed that they had carried out the attacks. The statement also revealed the names of the bombers: Abu Khabib, Abu Muaz, Abu Omaira and Om Omaira, all Iraqis. Members of the Jordanian government had already begun blaming the attacks on the Islamic terrorist group, which counts the Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, among its leaders. "The attacks carry the trademark of al Qaeda", one police official said. Two U.S. intelligence officials agreed, describing the style of the attacks as bearing the trademark of al-Zarqawi, who has, in the past, discussed the possibility of launching attacks outside of Iraq. Of late, there have been concerns that terrorist attacks may occur in Jordan, due in part to its close proximity to Iraq, but also due to its government's cooperation in the United States' War on Terrorism.
Notably, the Radisson hotel was previously an al Qaeda target during the 2000 millennium attack plots. Jordanian police foiled the original attempt after arresting
Khadr Abu Hoshar, a
In American shorthand date notation, the month number is followed by the day number, i.e. 9/11 corresponds to September 11. However, elsewhere in the world, the month number follows the day number, thus, November 9 would be notated in most nations, including Jordan, as 9/11. It has been speculated that this may constitute a parallel between the two dates (and thus to the September 11, 2001 attacks).
Response
Jordan - Abdullah II, the King of Jordan, cut short a state visit to Kazakhstan and
returned to Jordan, where he pledged that "justice will pursue the criminals" and condemned the attacks. King Abdullah also
cancelled an upcoming visit to Israel.
-
United Nations Secretary-General
Kofi Annan had planned to visit Jordan on November 10,
2005, but postponed the trip in light of the bombings. Kofi Annan issued a statement "strongly
condemning" the attacks, and underscoring the need for additional security measures against terrorist attacks worldwide.
United States - A spokesman for the
White House called the bombings "a heinous act of terror," while United States
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called
the bombings a "great tragedy" that show "the very difficult war that we're fighting."
President George W. Bush said, "The bombing should remind all of us that there's an enemy in the world that is willing to kill innocent people, willing to bomb a wedding celebration in order to advance their cause."
Israel - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called King Abdullah and offered his condolences, as well as assistance in the recovery
efforts.
Finland - The Finnish Government as well expressed their condolences and stated that "terrorism is to be
condemned always and everywhere", through Minister of Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja.
Jordanians reacted to the bombings with outrage. Hundreds of people in Amman participated in protests against the bombings, chanting "burn in hell, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi". [11] King Abdullah and Queen Rania visited several victims of the bombings in hospital. The King said "The pain you felt for the loss of your beloved ones, who were killed for no crime they committed, was shared by all Jordanians, regardless of their origins or religions." A relative of one of the victims presented a copy of the Koran to the King during his visit to the hospital. [12]
The family of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (nee Ahmed Fadeel Nazzal al-Khalayleh), the
al-Khalayleh tribe, took out half-page advertisements in Jordan's three main newspapers, to denounce him and his actions. 57
members of the al-Khalayleh family, including al-Zarqawi's brother and cousin, also reiterated their strong allegiance to the
king. The ads said "As we pledge to maintain homage to
Notes
- ^ Deadly Bombings Hit Jordan - TheStreet.com, November 9, 2005
- ^ Jordan bombings kill 57, wound 300 - Aljazeera, November 9, 2005
- ^ 'Bomber confession' shocks Jordan - CNN, November 14, 2005
- ^ Amman bombings kill 'Halloween' producer - CNN, November 12, 2005
- ^ Bombed Jordan hotels still estimating damages - Michael Bradford, Business Insurance, November 11, 2005
- ^ Second Israeli Fatality in Amman Terror Attacks - Arutz Sheva (Israel National News), November 10, 2005
- ^ Did Israel have Prior Knowledge of the Amman 11/9 Terror Attacks? - GlobalResearch.ca, November 13, 2005
- ^ Dozens held over Jordan bombings - BBC, November 11, 2005
- ^ Jordan confirms al Qaeda behind hotel blasts - CNN, November 12, 2005
- ^ Bomber's wife arrested in Jordan - BBC, November 13, 2005
- ^ Jordan 'not afraid' after bombs - BBC, November 10, 2005
- ^ King, Queen meet with families of terror victims - King Abdullah II Official Website, November 15, 2005
- ^ Al-Khalayleh tribe disowns al-Zarqawi - Jerusalem Post, November 20, 2005
External links
- Al-Jazeera report
- BBC News report
- CBS News report
- CNN report
- Fox News report
- Jerusalem Post report
- MSNBC report
- New York Times report
- Reuters report
- RTÉ News report
- SBS Australia report
- Woman bomber in Amman hotel blasts arrested
- Slide Show created by: Laith Al-Faraj
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