Al-Qaida: Jordan suicide attackers included husband and wife

An internet statement today in the name of al-Qaida in Iraq claimed the deadly hotel bombings in Jordan were carried out by four Iraqis, including a husband and wife “who chose to accompany her husband to his martyrdom”.

“All of these are Iraqis from the land between the two rivers,” the statement said, alluding to Iraq’s ancient name, Mesopotamia.

“They vowed to die and they chose the shortest route to receive the blessings of God.”

The statement could not be authenticated, but it appeared on a site which has included past al Qaida statements and was signed in the name of the group’s spokesman, Abu Maysara al-Iraqi.

Earlier, police said they had arrested at least 120 people, mainly Iraqis and Jordanians, in the nationwide manhunt for those behind the triple Amman hotel bombings, a senior police official said today.

The official had no details on the possible role of any of those detained in connection with Wednesday’s attacks on the Grand Hyatt, Radisson SAS and Days Inn hotel that killed at least 60 people, including three bombers.

“Scores have been rounded up in different parts of the country since the attacks,” said the official.

“They’re of different nationalities, mainly Iraqis and Jordanians. The number of people interrogated now is 120.

“We don’t know if any of them were involved in the attacks or assisted the suicide bombers,” the official said.

"Many may simply be innocent.”

The al Qaida in Iraq terror group, led by Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

At least one of the three suicide bombers spoke to people inside the lobby of the Hyatt Hotel with an Iraqi accent before blowing himself up.