Hyatt hotel in Jordan
Photo: Yaron Brenner
Report: Jordan bombers were Iraqi
CNN reports that two of three suicide bombers that struck Amman hotels were Iraqi citizens
Two of the three suicide bombers that struck three luxury hotels in Jordan’s capital Amman on Wednesday are believed to have been Iraqi citizens, CNN reported Thursday.
According to the report, Al-Zarqawi's al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility for the bombings in a website posting. Three blasts occurred almost simultaneously Wednesday evening at the Hyatt Grand Hotel, the Radisson SAS and the Days Inn hotels, killing 57 people and wounding hundreds.
CNN said it cannot verify the authenticity of the website's claims, yet cited U.S. intelligence officials as saying they "view that claim as credible."
The website posting referred to the hotels frequented by westerners as "retreats that were planted in the land of Muslims in Amman."
The message continued: "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."
Senior Jordanian security officials said suicide attackers with explosive belts caused the blasts, contradicting earlier reports that vehicles were involved.
