Who Did It?
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s group, now calling itself Al Qaeda in Iraq, is claiming credit for the bombings in Amman, Jordan, but something is wrong. The authorities are saying that the bombers were Iraqis. Al-Zarqawi’s group is notably non-Iraqi, the “foreign fighters” that the Pentagon talks about.
Dr. Cole has his suspicions about this for his reasons, which make sense.
In a Washington Post article about recent tension between Jordanians and Iraqi immigrants, it is noted that the February 28th bombing that killed 125 people in the Iraqi city of Hilla was carried out by a Jordanian, a probable member of Al-Zarqawi’s group.
Revenge is an old tradition in the land around the two rivers. The bombers seem to have targeted a Jordanian wedding party that was taking place in one of the hotels. The Jordanian authorities have made significant penetrations into the Al-Zarqawi group, and have stopped a number of potential attacks.
It would be useful to know if the Amman bombers can be identified as Shi’ia, which would point to a revenge killing for Hilla.
