2005 Amman bombings

2005 Amman bombings

Infobox terrorist attack
title=2005 Amman bombings


caption=Amman, the capital city of Jordan
location=Amman, Jordan
target=Three hotels
date=9 November 2005
time=began 20:50
timezone=UTC+2
type=Suicide bombings
fatalities=60, plus 3 suicide bombers
injuries=115
perps=Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi; Abu Khabib, Abu Muaz, Abu Omaira and Om Omaira

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. [ [http://www.thestreet.com/_googlen/funds/international-pf/10252100.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA Deadly Bombings Hit Jordan] - TheStreet.com, November 9, 2005] [ [http://aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=10143 Jordan bombings kill 57, wound 300] - Aljazeera, November 9, 2005] The three hotels are often frequented by foreign diplomats. The bomb at the Radisson SAS exploded in the Philadelphia Ballroom, where a wedding hosting hundreds of guests was taking place.

The attacks


=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 [ [http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/11/14/jordan.blasts/index.html 'Bomber confession' shocks Jordan] - CNN, November 14, 2005] people killed in the explosion were the fathers of the bride and groom. In addition, 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.


=Grand Hyatt= The second blast happened about convert|500|yd|m|-2 from the Radisson SAS. It destroyed the hotel's entrance and brought down pillars and ceiling tiles, along with badly damaging the reception and bar areas. 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. [ [http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/11/11/amman.filmmaker/index.html Amman bombings kill 'Halloween' producer] - CNN, November 12, 2005] Akkad, who is best known for producing the "Halloween" series of slasher films, was also the producer of "Mohammad, Messenger of God". At the time of his death, he was in the early stages of producing a film about Saladin, the Kurdish Muslim leader who expelled the Crusaders from Palestine. Hyatt began cleanup shortly after the attacks and reopened their hotel on November 19.


=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. [ [http://www.businessinsurance.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=6709 Bombed Jordan hotels still estimating damages] - Michael Bradford, "Business Insurance", November 11, 2005]


=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, mostly Jordanian Christians. The rest were six Iraqis, five Palestinians, four Americans, two Arab-Israelis, [ [http://israelnn.com/news.php3?id=92760 Second Israeli Fatality in Amman Terror Attacks] - "Arutz Sheva" ("Israel National News"), November 10, 2005] 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 film producer Moustapha Akkad, who was in the Grand Hyatt lobby, was severely wounded and died in hospital on November 11. His 34-year-old daughter Rima was also killed in the blast.

There were rumors that several Israeli citizens were evacuated prior to the blast, although two Arab-Israelis were fatally injured in the explosions. Such rumors are not uncommon in such situations, as Israeli conspiracy theories are very prevalent in Arab countries. [ [http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CHO20051113&articleId=1238 Did Israel have Prior Knowledge of the Amman 11/9 Terror Attacks?] - GlobalResearch.ca, November 13, 2005]


=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. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4428204.stm Dozens held over Jordan bombings] - BBC, November 11, 2005] On November 12, Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher [ [http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/11/12/jordan.blasts/index.html Jordan confirms al Qaeda behind hotel blasts] - CNN, November 12, 2005] 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. On 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 [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4432964.stm Bomber's wife arrested in Jordan] - BBC, November 13, 2005] , 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 Palestinian militant, along with 15 others on December 12, 1999. All three of the hotels are frequented by American, Israeli, and European military contractors, journalists, business people, and diplomats, and the city itself has long been described as a "gate way" for westerners into Baghdad and Iraq at large, leading many to entertain the possibility of a connection between the Amman bombings and the war in Iraq. 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= flagcountry|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.

, 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. flagcountry|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."

flagcountry|Israel - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called King Abdullah and offered his condolences, as well as assistance in the recovery efforts.

flagcountry|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". [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4426458.stm Jordan 'not afraid' after bombs] - BBC, November 10, 2005] 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. [ [http://www.kingabdullah.jo/news/details.php?kn_serial=3846&menu_id=26&lang_hmka1=1 King, Queen meet with families of terror victims] - King Abdullah II Official Website, November 15, 2005] The family of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (nee Ahmed Fadheel 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 King Abdullah and to our precious Jordan ... we denounce in the clearest terms all the terrorist actions claimed by the so-called Ahmed Fadheel Nazzal al-Khalayleh, who calls himself Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi" ... "We announce, and all the people are our witnesses, that we - the sons of the al-Khalayleh tribe - are innocent of him and all that emanates from him, whether action, assertion or decision." ... "We sever links with him until doomsday." [ [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1132475586094&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Al-Khalayleh tribe disowns al-Zarqawi] - "Jerusalem Post", November 20, 2005]


=Notes=


=External links= wikinews|Series of explosions hit hotels in Amman wikisource|2005 Amman Bombings, Sajida Atrous al-Rishawi confession text
* [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A0A5DC6A-E446-4F3F-B35E-2947E89E1F54.htm Al-Jazeera report]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4423008.stm BBC News report]
* [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/09/world/main1029210.shtml CBS News report]
* [http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/11/09/jordan.blasts/index.html CNN report]
* [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,175079,00.html Fox News report]
* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1131367057309&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Jerusalem Post report]
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9979747/ MSNBC report]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/09/international/middleeast/09cnd-jordan.html New York Times report]
* [http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-11-09T225926Z_01_WRI970423_RTRUKOC_0_UK-SECURITY-JORDAN.xml Reuters report]
* [http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/1109/jordan.html RTÉ News report]
* [http://www9.sbs.com.au/theworldnews/region.php?id=124844&region=6 SBS Australia report]
* [http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-11/13/content_3774443.htm Woman bomber in Amman hotel blasts arrested]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sR6tXmxsi0 Slide Show created by: Laith Al-Faraj]


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