Jordan’s security chief resigns after hotel attacks
11 top officials step down as bomb-team survivor grilled New rules set for foreign renters aim to keep out militants
AMMAN— Eleven top Jordanian officials, including the national security adviser, resigned yesterday and the government imposed tough new rules aimed at foreigners in the wake of the deadly hotel bombings. A fourth American died of wounds sustained in the attacks, according to the U. S. Embassy, raising the death toll to 58, plus the three bombers.
U. S. National Intelligence Director John Negroponte met top officials in Amman to praise Jordan’s response to the attacks, according to official media, while interrogators questioned the sole surviving member of the attack team about Al Qaeda’s network in Iraq. Two Interpol forensic experts also came to Amman to “exchange information and expertise in the field of fighting crime,” the state- run Petra news agency said. More details emerged about Sajida Mubarak al- Rishawi, the would- be bomber arrested Sunday following triple suicide bombings carried out by her husband and two 23- year-old Iraqis on the Radisson SAS, Grand Hyatt and Days Inn hotels.
In a televised confession, alRishawi has said her 10-kilogram explosives belt failed to detonate, though her husband’s did, killing more than 20 wedding partygoers at the Radisson.
Al Qaeda in Iraq, led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for the Nov. 9 attacks. Two of al-Rishawi’s friends said three of her brothers, including a known Al Qaeda in Iraq cell leader in the former insurgent bastion of Falluja, were killed by U. S. forces last year. The friends, from Iraq’s troubled western province of Anbar, spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared retribution from militants.
It was unclear if her brother’s deaths spurred al-Rishawi to take part in the plot or if she was influenced by her 35- year- old husband, who appeared to be the attack cell leader.
Police believe al- Rishawi, who comes from Ramadi in western Iraq, may provide vital clues to Al Qaeda in Iraq and possibly alZarqawi’s whereabouts. But her interrogation, expected to last a month, is going slowly amid an increasing sense she played only a small part in the operation. She could face the death penalty if convicted of conspiring to carry out a terrorist attack.
Interior Minister Awni Yirfas announced new regulations yesterday aimed at keeping foreign militants from operating covertly in Jordan, including a demand that Jordanians notify authorities within 48 hours of any foreigners renting an apartment or house. Names, nationalities and passport details must be handed over. No details were given for the resignations of the 11 top officials, who included national security adviser Saad Kheir and Faisal Fayez, the Royal Court chief and former prime minister. But the bombings sparked national outrage and raised concerns over the handling of Jordan’s national security services.
Jordan has also started drafting new anti- terrorism laws that will likely be ready for debate in parliament early next year, an Interior Ministry official said. The laws propose allowing any suspect to be held for questioning indefinitely and imposing penalties on those who put lives or property at risk — inside or outside the country. Anyone condoning or justifying terror actions or supporting them financially will face penalties under the proposals, the official added.
Jordanian security forces already wield far- reaching powers to arrest and hold suspects. The news laws would be the country’s first specifically designed to counter terrorism.