Misunderstanders of Islam at it again, this time in Jordan. Motive? Well, it seems that “the tyrant of Jordan has made the backyard garden for the enemy of the religion — Jews and crusaders.” You may have missed Richard Coeur De Lion’s last expedition into Jordan, but A-Q is on the case. “Al-Qaida Claims Credit for Jordan Blasts,” from AP, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:
Al-Qaida claimed responsibility in an Internet posting Thursday for three suicide attacks on Western hotels that killed at least 57 people, as police clamped down on security and began running DNA tests to try to identify the bombers.
The nearly simultaneous attacks late Wednesday also wounded more than 115 people, police said. Several arrests were made overnight, although it was unclear if those arrested were suspects or witnesses.
The claim of responsibility, signed in the name of the spokesman for the group Al-Qaida in Iraq, said that “after studying and watching the targets, places were chosen to carry out an attack on some hotels that the tyrant of Jordan has made the backyard garden for the enemy of the religion _ Jews and crusaders.”
The authenticity of the posting could not be immediately determined, though it was made on a Web site frequently used by Al-Qaida operatives.
Here is an excellent New York Sun editorial on the significance of the attacks.
And here is the text of the A-Q statement (thanks to Gabrielle Goldwater).