AMMAN Ñ Jordanian authorities suspect that pro-Iraqi agents were
responsible for an assassination attempt of the nation's counter-terrorism
chief.
Jordanian security sources said the Thursday's bombing in Amman was
meant to warn the Hashemite kingdom to end cooperation with the United
States in plans to attack Iraq.
"It was a message, that's for sure," a senior security source said.
"Whoever did it wanted to show that they knew exactly who to target."
The source said Iraq might not have been directly responsible. But
pro-Iraqi agents have been used in attacks in Amman by Islamic opponents of
the regime. The last car bombing in Jordan was in 1998.
On Thursday, a bomb exploded outside the home of Ali Burjak, head of
counterterrorism at Jordan's General Intelligence Directorate. Burjak was
not injured but two laborers were killed in Thursday's attack.
The bomb, described as a homemade device, was placed under a car
parked outside Burjak's home in the neighborhood of Jabal Amman. The car
belonged to Burjak's wife. Several people were arrested after the bombing.
The Jordanian counterterrorism chief played a leading role in the
investigation of suspected Al Qaida insurgents. They included the
prosecution of 28 people, most of them tried in absentia, charged with
plotting a bombing campaign more than two years ago. Six of the defendants
were sentenced to death.
Last month, Jordan's intelligence service was reported to have
arrested and interrogated dozens of suspects linked to the Al Qaida
movement. One of the suspects was convicted and sentenced to death.
No group claimed responsibility for the bombing. The bombing came hours
after senior Jordanian officials met their Israeli counterparts in both
Amman and near Aqaba.
Jordan has been named as a key participant in the U.S.-led war against
terrorism. Jordanian troops have been deployed in Afghanistan and U.S.
officials report a brisk intelligence exchange between Amman and Washington.
