2005 Amman bombings

2005 terrorist attack in Amman, Jordan January 2023 2005 Amman bombings the spillover of the Iraq War Hotel bomb damage, Jordan.jpg The three bombed-out hotels Jordan 31.949722 35.932778 Amman bombings 100 none center Location within Jordan Amman, Jordan Three hotels 9 November 2005 31 56 59 N 35 55 58 E region:JO inline,title began 20:50 UTC+2 Suicide bombings RDX suicide vests 60 killed, plus 3 suicide bombers 115 wounded al-Qaeda The 2005 Amman bombings were a series of coordinated suicide bomb attacks on three hotel lobbies in Amman, Jordan, on 9 November 2005. The explosions at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, the Radisson SAS Hotel, and the Days Inn started at around 20:50 local time (18:50 UTC) at the Grand Hyatt.Deadly Bombings Hit Jordan https://web.archive.org/web/20061116234632/http://www.thestreet.com/_googlen/funds/international-pf/10252100.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA 16 November 2006 - TheStreet.com, 9 November 2005Jordan bombings kill 57, wound 300 https://web.archive.org/web/20110707111903/http://aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=10143 7 July 2011 - Aljazeera, 9 November 2005 The three hotels were frequented by foreign diplomats. The bomb at the Radisson SAS exploded in the Philadelphia Ballroom, where a Palestinian wedding hosting hundreds of guests was taking place. The attacks killed 57 people and injured 115 others. Al-Qaeda in Iraq was quick to claim responsibility for the attack.https://books.google.com/books?id=iQRA0k6s8QkC&pg=PA171 171 Police Analysis and Planning for Homicide Bombings: Prevention, Defense, and Response John Ellis Charles C Thomas Publisher 2007 9780398085186 3 January 2019 24 January 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230124021945/https://books.google.com/books?id=iQRA0k6s8QkC&pg=PA171 live The attacks February 2024 + 2005 Amman bombings casualties Place Deaths Injured Sources Radisson SAS blast 36 (AP)May 2022 InternetArchiveBot yes Grand Hyatt blast 9 (AP)May 2022 InternetArchiveBot yes Days Inn blast 3 (AP)May 2022 InternetArchiveBot yes In hospitals 12 (AP)May 2022 InternetArchiveBot yes Total 60+ 115 +Excludes the 3 suicide bombers Radisson SAS At the Radisson SAS Hotel (now known as the "Landmark Hotel"), two suicide bombers—husband and wife Ali Hussein Ali al-Shamari and Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi—entered the Philadelphia Ballroom, where Ashraf Akhras and Nadia Al-Alami were celebrating their wedding with around 900 Jordanian and Palestinian guests. Sajida al-Rishawi was unable to detonate her belt. Her husband Ali al-Shamari, apparently admonished her and told her to get out of the room. As she was leaving, the lights went out in the ballroom, Ali jumped onto a dining-room table and detonated his explosives. Among the 38 people killed in the explosion were the fathers of the bride and groom. 'Bomber confession' shocks Jordan https://web.archive.org/web/20060206221253/http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/11/14/jordan.blasts/index.html 6 February 2006 - CNN, 14 November 2005. In addition, the explosion destroyed the ballroom, blew out the large windows bordering the street, and knocked down ceiling panels. The hotel lobby was also affected: ceiling panels and light fixtures collapsed, furniture was destroyed, and the hotel's glass doors were shattered. Cleanup and rebuilding commenced shortly afterwards. The hotel was actually targeted in the 2000 millennium attack plots nearly six years prior, but the plan was foiled.February 2024 Grand Hyatt The second blast happened about 500 yards (457 metres) from the Radisson SAS. It destroyed the hotel's entrance and brought down pillars and ceiling tiles, along with badly damaging the reception and bar areas. After the bomber ordered orange juice in the hotel's coffee shop, he went to another room (possibly to get his explosive belt) and then came back and detonated his bomb. Seven hotel employees were killed in this blast, as were Syrian-American movie producer Moustapha Akkad and his daughter, Rima.Amman bombings kill 'Halloween' producer https://web.archive.org/web/20051126080309/http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/11/11/amman.filmmaker/index.html 26 November 2005 - CNN, 12 November 2005 Akkad, who is best known for producing the Halloween series of slasher films, was also the director and producer of Mohammad, Messenger of God. At the time of his death, he was in the early stages of producing a film about Saladin, the Muslim leader who expelled the Crusaders from the Levant. Hyatt began cleanup shortly after the attacks and reopened their hotel on 19 November. Days Inn At the Days Inn, the bomber entered the restaurant on the hotel's ground floor. He tried to detonate his explosive belt but had trouble; a waiter noticed this and called security. The bomber ran outside the hotel and successfully detonated himself, killing three members of a Chinese military delegation. Property damage at the Days Inn was expected to amount to around $200,000.Bombed Jordan hotels still estimating damages https://web.archive.org/web/20060721155153/http://www.businessinsurance.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=6709 21 July 2006 - Michael Bradford, Business Insurance, 11 November 2005 Casualties + Deaths by nationalityCountryNumber Jordan 36 Iraq 6 Palestine 5 United States 4 China 3 Bahrain 2 Israel 2 Syria 1980 2 Indonesia 1 Saudi Arabia 1 According to one Jordanian official, Maj. Bashir al-Da'aja, early in the investigation, local authorities confirmed a series of coordinated suicide attacks as the cause of the blasts. Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Marwan al-Muasher initially announced that at least 67 people had died and 300 people had been injured. However, the Jordanian government subsequently revised the number of casualties down to at least 59 dead and 115 injured. Among the dead were thirty-six Jordanians, mostly from a Muslim wedding, including the fathers of both the bride and groom. Both the families of the bride and groom were originally from Silat ad-Dhahr, where 18 of the 57 victims killed were also originally from. The rest were six Iraqis, five Palestinians, four Americans, two Palestinian citizens of Israel, two Bahrainis, three Chinese delegates of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), one Saudi, and one Indonesian citizen. Filmmaker Moustapha Akkad died with his daughter. The Palestinian fatalities included Major-General Bashir Nafeh, the head of military intelligence in the West Bank, Colonel Abed Allun, a high-ranking Preventive Security forces official, Jihad Fatouh, the commercial attaché at the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo, and Mosab Khorma, a senior Palestinian-American banker and former Paltel CEO. Both of the Israeli fatalities were Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel. One was Husam Fathi Mahajna, a businessman from Umm al-Fahm, and the other was an unidentified resident of East Jerusalem. Suspects Jordanian police initially stated that there were at least four attackers (the fourth, a female, was later captured), including a couple. A number of Iraqis were among the more than 100 suspects who were arrested in the following days. Police claimed to have found maps that were used in planning the attack.Dozens held over Jordan bombings https://web.archive.org/web/20060515152150/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4428204.stm 15 May 2006 - BBC, 11 November 2005 On 12 November, Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher confirmed that the attackers were Iraqi and that there were only three suicide bombers.http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/11/12/jordan.blasts/index.html CNN.com - Jordan confirms al Qaeda behind hotel blasts - Nov 12, 2005 https://web.archive.org/web/20080527142122/http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/11/12/jordan.blasts/index.html 27 May 2008 19 April 2014 On 13 November, King Abdullah announced the arrest of a woman believed to be a fourth would-be suicide bomber, whose explosive belt failed to detonate. The three dead suicide bombers were identified,Bomber's wife arrested in Jordan https://web.archive.org/web/20170801210652/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4432964.stm 1 August 2017 - BBC, 13 November 2005 and their names were announced by Deputy Prime Minister Muasher. They were Ali Hussein Ali al-Shamari (SAS Radisson), Rawad Jassem Mohammed Abed (Grand Hyatt), and Safaa Mohammed Ali (Days Inn). The woman in custody was identified as Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi. She was married to al-Shamari and intended to blow herself up at the Radisson. Muasher also said that she was the sister of a close aide of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/14/AR2005111400230.html Motive Glimpsed in Jordan Attack 1 November 2007 Jackie Spinner Jackie Spinner 15 November 2005 The Washington Post A18 Jordanian officials have identified the two other bombers as Rawad Jassem Mohammed Abed and Safaa Mohammed Ali, both 23. 3 November 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121103175347/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/14/AR2005111400230.html live Rishawi was executed in February 2015 in response to the murder of Jordanian air force pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh by ISIL. Jordan executes female would-be suicide bomber wanted for release by Isis https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/04/jordan-executes-female-would-be-suicide-bomber-wanted-for-release-by-isis theguardian.com 4 February 2015 4 February 2015 4 February 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150204064042/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/04/jordan-executes-female-would-be-suicide-bomber-wanted-for-release-by-isis live Perpetrators An internet statement released the day after claimed that the bombers were Abu Khabib, Abu Muaz, Abu Omaira, and Om Omaira, all Iraqis. March 2015 Al-Qaeda in Iraq immediately claimed the attack on a website, saying they were trying to hit "American and Israeli intelligence and other Western European governments".http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4426458.stm Jordan 'not afraid' after bombs BBC News 10 November 2005 1 March 2015 31 August 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170831154816/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4426458.stm live AQI leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed the hotels were "playgrounds for Jewish terrorists."https://press.armywarcollege.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1385&context=monographs The U.S. Army in the Iraq War Volume 1 Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. Army War College Press 2019 504 The Radisson hotel was previously an Islamist target during the 2000 millennium attack plots.Amman Radisson Targeted in Foiled Millennium Attack https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Terrorism/story?id=1296624 American Broadcasting Company 4 February 2015 ABC News 9 November 2005 28 October 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201028211618/https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Terrorism/story?id=1296624 live Jordanian police foiled the original attempt after arresting Khadr Abu Hoshar, a Palestinian militant, along with 15 others on 12 December 1999. It is believed that some of the hotels are frequented by American, Israeli, and European military contractors, journalists, business people, and diplomats, and the city itself has long been described as a "gateway" for Westerners into Baghdad and Iraq at large, leading many to entertain the possibility of a connection between the Amman bombings and the War in Iraq. Response Domestic King Abdullah II cut a state visit to Kazakhstan short and returned to Jordan, where he pledged that "justice will pursue the criminals" and condemned the attacks. King Abdullah also canceled an upcoming visit to Israel.November 2013 Jordanians reacted to the bombings with outrage. Several hundred people in Amman participated in protests against the bombings, chanting "burn in hell, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi". King Abdullah and Queen Rania visited several victims of the bombings in hospital. The King said "The pain you felt for the loss of your beloved ones, who were killed for no crime they committed, was shared by all Jordanians, regardless of their origins or religions." A relative of one of the victims presented a copy of the Qur'an to Abdullah during his visit to the hospital.King, Queen meet with families of terror victims https://web.archive.org/web/20060329043717/http://www.kingabdullah.jo/news/details.php?kn_serial=3846&menu_id=26&lang_hmka1=1 29 March 2006 - King Abdullah II Official Website, 15 November 2005 The family of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Khalayleh tribe, took out half-page advertisements in Jordan's three main newspapers, to denounce him and his actions. Fifty-seven members of the al-Khalayleh family, including al-Zarqawi's brother and cousin, also reiterated their strong allegiance to the king. The ads said,As we pledge to maintain homage to King Abdullah and to our precious Jordan ... we denounce in the clearest terms all the terrorist actions claimed by the so-called Ahmed Fadheel Nazzal al-Khalayleh, who calls himself Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi ... We announce, and all the people are our witnesses, that we – the sons of the al-Khalayleh tribe – are innocent of him and all that emanates from him, whether action, assertion or decision. ... We sever links with him until doomsday.https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/al-khalayleh-tribe-disowns-al-zarqawi Al-Khalayleh tribe disowns al-Zarqawi https://web.archive.org/web/20201004195858/https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/al-khalayleh-tribe-disowns-al-zarqawi 4 October 2020 Jerusalem Post November 20, 2005 December 2, 2023 International November 2013 United Nations: Secretary-General Kofi Annan had planned to visit Jordan on 10 November 2005, but postponed the trip in light of the bombings. Kofi Annan issued a statement "strongly condemning" the attacks, and underscoring the need for additional security measures against terrorist attacks worldwide. USA: A spokesman for the White House called the bombings "a heinous act of terror." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called the bombings a "great tragedy" that show "the very difficult war that we're fighting." President George W. Bush said "The bombing should remind all of us that there's an enemy in the world that is willing to kill innocent people, willing to bomb a wedding celebration in order to advance their cause." The New York City Police Department had Brandon del Pozo,Brandon del Pozo https://brandondelpozo.com/ Pozo Brandon del Brandon del Pozo en-US 18 May 2020 3 September 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200903002807/https://brandondelpozo.com/ live a newly stationed overseas intelligence officer, working in Amman. He investigated the incident on behalf of New York City, rather than the US federal government, to ascertain what vulnerabilities it might reveal in the way the city protected its hotels from similar threats. New anti-terror measures After the bombings, Jordanian government pledged to take new anti-terror measures to ensure that this would not happen again. Notes 2 External links Series of explosions hit hotels in Amman 2005 Amman Bombings, Sajida Atrous al-Rishawi confession text BBC News report CBS News report CNN report Fox News report Jerusalem Post reportSeptember 2025 InternetArchiveBot MSNBC report New York Times report Reuters report RTÉ News report SBS Australia reportJanuary 2018 InternetArchiveBot yes Woman bomber in Amman hotel blasts arrested Slide Show created by: Laith Al-Faraj Category:Suicide bombings in Jordan Category:Terrorist incidents in Asia in 2005 Category:November 2005 crimes in Asia Category:November 2005 in Asia Category:21st century in Amman Category:2005 mass murders Category:2005 crimes in Jordan Category:Iraq–Jordan relations Category:Crime in Amman Category:Terrorist incidents attributed to al-Qaeda in Iraq Category:Islamic terrorism in Asia Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 2005 Category:2000s murders in Jordan Category:2005 murders in Asia Category:2005 building bombings Category:Terrorist incidents in Jordan in the 2000s Category:Attacks on weddings Category:Hotel bombings in Asia Category:Massacres in Jordan Category:Suicide bombings in 2005 Category:21st-century mass murders in Asia