AMMAN — Jordan has isssue an alert, warning foreign embassies that suicide bombers may have entered the country.
Jordanian sources said authorities suspected that four vehicles packed
with explosives have entered the Hashemite kingdom from either Iraq or
Syria. The sources said the vehicles were being prepared for a suicide
strike around Western embassies in Amman.
The alert has resulted in increased security around embassies in Amman, Middle East Newsline reported.
Several Western embassies have also decreased their personnel and reduced
hours of some departments to avoid exposure to attack.
"We are positive that there has been an attempt to bring these cars into
Jordan," a source said. "We are not sure whether all, some or any of these
vehicles managed to enter."
The sources said the car bomb plot was drafted by Al Qaida in Iraq. They
said Al Qaida network chief Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi has planned a new series
of strikes in wake of the killing of 57 people in coordinated suicide
attacks in Amman in December 2005.
The sources said Al Zarqawi has designated Jordan as his key target
outside of Iraq. Jordan has strengthened its military relationship with the
United States and became a meeting point of Western intelligence officials
who visit or operate in the Middle East.
Jordan has placed on trial about a dozen Al Qaida operatives commanded
by Al Zarqawi. Al Zarqawi has vowed to attack Jordan until the kingdom
releases the defendants, who include suspected fund-raisers for the
insurgency movement.