UPDATE 3: Who are the culprits? Since no one has claimed responsibility for the barbaric attacks, speculation has already begun and almost everyone is pointing to the one and only Zarqawi. He has threatened Jordan publicly a number of times so no surprise there. Also, these similtaneous attacks bear the hallmarks of Al-Qeada. I would say the culprits are either Zarqawi or an al-Qaeda copycat. But I was surprised to hear Salamet Ne’mat, the director of Al-Hayat office in DC, saying on CNN that Syria might be linked to this. Ha? Why Syria? What kind of an analysis is this!
UPDATE 2: I just finished chatting with my sister. She just got home. It was difficult for her to get inside the neighborhood of Rabieh where my parents live and where one of the hotels was attacked. The police cordoned off the area completely and she was stuck in her car on the outskirts of Rabieyh for almost an hour. She made it home with the help of one policeman. The Days Inn Hotel, which was the third hotel attacked, is only one mile away from where my family lives. She said they can smell the smoke from our house. This is just horrible!
I’m a bit calmer now that I know that my immediate family members and most of my friends are okay. Thank God! Now it is time to unleash my anger at the bloodsucking low-life barbarians that attacked my country and killed my people.
May you enjoy the hell that is awaiting you, where, to your dismay, you will be greeted by seven demons instead of your long-awaited virgins! May you rot in hell over and over again along with Zarqawi, Bin Laden, Bin Shit and all those that support you. Nothing in the world can justify this. Those that try to justify this can rot in hell as well! May God protect my country and my people. May God bless the souls of those barbarically massacred today. We will never forget!
UPDATE: Here is the latest: Aljazeera is reporting that three explosins occurred in Amman. One at the Radission SAS, one at the Grand Hyatt and one at Days Inn in Rabyeh neighbourhood. My parents, my sisters and maybe half of Jordan live in Rabyeh. My parents live very close to the Days Inn. I just called them and thank God they are fine. Dad said he heard the explosion. The death toll so far is 18!!
I’m shaking as I’m writing this. I do not know what to say anymore. I’m appalled, disgusted and on the verge of tears. My sister is still driving back home and I can’t get a hold of her. I feel like smashing this monitor right now!
Here is the MSNBC report. A Yahoo slideshow here and Sabbah’s Flicker. AP is running a continuing update here …
An explosion shook the Grand Hyatt hotel in Jordan’s capital late Wednesday, and witnesses saw smoke rising from the building. A police official said some people had been killed, "and there are many wounded." An American businessman who was at the hotel when the explosion occurred, said a "bomb that went off in the lobby." He declined to identify himself.
Police said the cause of the explosion was unknown. A black cloud of smoke was seen rising from the building in the commercial Jebel Amman district following the blast at about 8:50 p.m. (1:50 p.m. EST). Ambulances were seen rushing to the hotel.
Kinzi,
Your children are in Amman?
God be with you. I can’t imagine what it must feel like. I hope you speak with them soon.
Aljazeera is quoting Jordanian officials saying the blasts were likely carried out by suicide bombers.
Two hundred reported injured now.
Natasha, my husband just called me and said he felt the blast too. I can’t believe I am not in the country with my husband and children! Of all the times to be gone! I am also shaking, it’s like the loss of our innocence, we’ve been hit. Hope you hear from Tania soon. I’m praying.
Hayati Natasha, the first thing I thought of when I heard about it was to call your parents but unfortunately I don’t have their contact number. I’m so sorry to hear this is happening in your country. As a Lebanese, I can sympathize with you. It is one of the worst things in the world to see your nation unstable and being torn apart by terrorists.
Sigh.
Jordanian civil defense corps is reporting 31 dead now.
Natasha, any word from your family?
Twenty-three dead, reuters reports.
Sad news.
Absolutely appalling.
Outraged.
This is intolerable! I stayed at the Radisson this summer and am booked to stay there in less than three weeks!
Eighteen dead! It’s bound to go up.
Outrageous murder.
Natasha, my heart goes out to you. I have to make calls too.
CNN has just reported 18 killed! And another 120 wounded from three suicide bombers!
I just came here to tell you! It’s being reported on Israel tv. This is really awful. Sky News is reporting 12 killed in three blasts!