AL-Qaida-linked group claims Jordan, Israel attacks

An internet statement released by the al-Qaida-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades militant group claimed responsibility for today’s rocket attacks in Jordan and Israel.

“A group of our holy warriors … targetted a gathering of American military ships docking in Aqaba port and also in Eilat port with three Katyusha rockets and the warriors returned safe to their headquarters,” said the statement, which could not be immediately verified.

Jordanian and Israeli authorities said militants fired three Katyusha rockets from a warehouse in the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba at a US Navy ship docked in the area and a nearby airport in neighbouring Israel. One Jordanian soldier was killed in the Aqaba port attack.

The Abdullah Azzam brigades was among several groups that claimed responsibility for previous attacks on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, including the October 7 car bombing of a hotel in the resort of Taba, which borders Israel, and the July 23 Sharm el-Sheikh bombings that killed at least 64 people.