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Strange iraqi woman makes confession Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-11-13T184138Z_01_KWA339192_RTRUKOC_0_UK-SECURITY-JORDAN.xml http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-11-13T184138Z_01_KWA339192_RTRUKOC_0_UK-SECURITY-JORDAN.xml Woman bomber makes confession Sun Nov 13, 2005 6:41 PM GMT By Suleiman al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - An Iraqi woman confessed on Jordanian television on Sunday that she had tried to blow herself up alongside her husband in an Amman hotel last week in one of three attacks that killed more than 50 people. The woman, identified by police as Sajida al-Rishawi, appeared in a headscarf and a long black coat describing her attempts to detonate an explosives-laden belt at a wedding celebration in the Radisson hotel. "We went into the hotel. He (my husband) took a corner and I took another. There was a wedding in the hotel. There were women and children," Rishawi told state-run television. "My husband executed the attack. I tried to detonate and it failed. People started running and I ran with them." The television show included other pictures which appeared to show Rishawi operating a mechanism covered in plastic and wearing explosives with a red wire strapped to her body. Rishawi's husband and two other suicide bombers belonging to al Qaeda in Iraq killed themselves and 54 other people in three simultaneous attacks at the Hyatt, Radisson and Days Inn hotels. It was not clear under what circumstances Rishawi gave her confession. She spoke with an Iraqi accent and said she came from the Iraqi city of Ramadi. International human rights groups say Jordanian police extract confessions from detainees under duress, but the woman spoke calmly. Officials said Rishawi is the sister of Samir Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi, a dead former aide to Jordanian-born al Qaeda in Iraq leader, Abu Musab al Zarqawi. Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility for the blasts. Al Qaeda in Iraq said in an Internet statement that a married couple and two other men -- all Iraqis -- had carried out the bombings at hotels frequented by Western security contractors who operate out of Iraq and by diplomats. Most of those who died were Jordanians attending weddings. TIGHTER LAWS Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Marwan al-Muasher told reporters all four bombers were from Iraq's western desert province of Anbar, a Sunni guerrilla stronghold bordering Jordan. Ramadi is the capital of Anbar province. He said the attackers entered Jordan four days before the blasts, rented an apartment in a middle-class neighbourhood in Amman and used suicide belts packed with 5-10 kg (11-22 lbs) of explosives and ball-bearings to "inflict the most casualties." Muasher named the three dead bombers as Safar Mohammed Ali, Rawad Jasim Mohammed Abid and Rishawi's husband as Ali Hussein al-Shimeri. He played down any Jordanian involvement. "My husband organised everything," Rishawi said in the television appearance. "I don't know anything. He had two explosive belts. He wore one and he made me wear the other one and taught me how to handle it." Hundreds of anti-riot police beefed up security at hotels and shopping malls across Amman. Interior Minister Awni Yarfas said the government would tighten anti-terrorist laws. "We are speeding up passing an anti-terror law soon to indict anyone who supports terror either through advocacy and incitement either by word or action." Jordan, a close U.S. ally and one of two Arab nations to have peace treaties with Israel, had previously been spared al Qaeda-linked attacks that have hit other countries. But authorities had warned that Zarqawi, who has a $25 million bounty on his head, had sent jihadists to strike targets outside Iraq, including Jordan. Jordan is home to a large exiled Iraqi community, many of whom fled the war and its aftermath to settle here, creating a real estate boom that has boosted Jordan's aid-dependent economy. It is also a hub for Iraq's reconstruction efforts. But Amman's support for the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq has angered some Jordanians, many of whom are of Palestinian origin and are against U.S. policies in the region. The blasts have sparked outrage in this small kingdom of about five million people. A few thousand people held a candle-light vigil outside the Hyatt on Saturday and chanted support for the King. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is touring the Middle East and Asia, was expected to make a previously unscheduled stopover in Jordan on Monday. (Additional reporting by Ibon Villelabeitia and Dina Wakeel)

Alqaeda thought they were killing arabs in jordan Blasts caused by bombs placed in false ceiling Bomb placed in ceiling caused blast Huge explosions rocked foundations of large hotel Israelis evacuated before jordan attack Israelis evacuated from bombings hours earlier No israelis killed in alqaeda attack claimed by alqaeda Strange iraqi woman makes confession Suicide bombers targetted jordanians { November 13 2005 } Suspected bomber released by US forces 2004 Text of iraq woman confession Three jordan hotels attacked kiling 57 { November 9 2005 } Files Listed: 12

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