Agents of Evil Draw Fresh Blood

Jordan suffers the wrath of the blood-lusters. My Way News has the story here.

Suicide bombers attacked three hotels frequented by Westerners in the Jordanian capital Wednesday night, and at least 53 people were killed and more than 120 wounded in the near-simultaneous explosions, police and a top government official said.

Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher gave the casualty estimate during an interview with CNN, in which he also said a car packed with explosives had approached one of the hotels attacked in the heart of the capital. He said there was no claim of responsibility, but Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, was a "prime suspect."

Fox News has more. Details include:

FOX News producers in Amman at the time of the first blast — which occurred at 8:50 p.m. local time — said the apparent attack was aimed at a "triangle" of three hotels in the city. A FOX News producer who was inside the Grand Hyatt when it was hit reported feeling the shockwaves from the blast, and said he and everyone else in the hotel were quickly evacuated. The blast completely shattered the hotel's stone entrance.

The next two explosions occurred at the Radisson SAS and the Days Inn, which are near the Hyatt. Police said five people were killed and at least 20 were wounded in the blast at the Radisson wedding hall where at least 300 people were celebrating.

A witness told the Associated Press he saw seven bodies being carried out of the Hyatt.

FOX News producer Serene Sabbagh went to a nearby hospital and saw eight or nine casualties brought in. Sabbagh said civilians were helping carry the victims inside the hospital, as ambulances and hospital staff were apparently overwhelmed.

The area hit by the blasts is frequented by wealthy Jordanians and international travelers, including diplomats, military personnel and other high-ranking officials. Jordan, a U.S. ally, is seen as one of the most secure and open countries in the volatile Middle East.

But the kingdom, surrounded by violent hot spots, is no stranger to terrorism.

Terrorism analyst Steve Emerson told FOX News that in the past five years, there have been at least a dozen plots against American-dominated hotels in Amman, "all of which have been successfully stopped."

But terrorists, specifically Al Qaeda, "strike the soft underbelly where American security … operations are not as extensive," Emerson said. "They find out the soft target and this is the quintessential soft target, that is, where there's very little protection."

Emerson said the FBI likely will get involved in the Jordan blast case.

While there is no evidence yet to suggest an Al-Qaeda link, one U.S. counterterrorism officials said Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi's group immediately comes to mind. The near-simultaneous attacks are one hallmark of Al Qaeda; Jordan has been trying to rid itself of Zarqawi's network for years.

"I think we all expected that Jordan was going to be a target very, very soon," added Global Options CEO and terrorism analyst Neil Livingstone, noting that there has been news recently of more Jordanian cooperation with the United States in the War on Terror. "This is something, it was only a matter of time, before they [Zarqawi's group] tried to destabilize the Jordanian regime."

He added: "This is probably an organized effort to undermine the Jordanian government and kill Americans in the balance. ... The United States has been putting more and more pressure on the insurgents in Iraq ... I think this is probably an effort by Al Qaeda to say 'we want to open a new front.'"

The United States has received some of its best information in the War on Terror from Jordan.

"The fact is, [Jordanian] King Abdullah is one of our allies, he's a close ally of Israel ... and he represents, in my judgment, truth in that part of the world and that's something that's anathema to these terrorists ... to destroy American and anything doing good in that part of the world," said FOX News foreign affairs analyst Mansoor Ijaz.

Ijaz said the apparent sophistication of the attacks and the fact that the bombs seem to have been placed inside the hotels, instead of being placed in a car that was driven up to the building, "means that this was in the planning stages for a very long time and when you have that time of time frame going into it, it's almost certain the entire [Al Qaeda] leadership would have been involved in the planning process."

One U.S. counterterrorism official confirmed that the CIA and the National Counterterrorism Center are monitoring the situation.

And, from the BBC:

The Radisson explosion ripped through a banqueting room where about 250 people were attending a wedding reception.

"We thought it was fireworks for the wedding but I saw people falling to the ground," said Ahmed, a wedding guest who did not give his surname.

"I saw blood. There were people killed. It was ugly."

No details have emerged so far of the names or nationalities of the victims.

"Three terrorist operations targeted the Radisson SAS, the Grand Hyatt and the Days Inn hotels," police spokesman Bashir al-Daajeh told Jordanian news agency Petra.

"They could be suicide operations," he said.

Police have set up roadblocks around hotels and embassies, and Prime Minister Adnan Badra has ordered all schools and public offices to close on Thursday.

King Abdullah II said the deadly blasts were "terrorist" acts" and pledged that "justice will pursue the criminals".

A White House spokesman condemned the bombings as "a heinous act of terror".

The Counterterrorism Blog notes affiliate experts that will appear on MSM.

Michelle Malkin offers a load of links.

Zarqawi targeting Jordan should surprise no one. His network has plagued the US ally with Al Qaeda-esque violence for years.

This latest attack accomplishes what all of Al Qaeda's attacks have accomplished. It puts their name in the media. Al Qaeda and Zarqawi require media saturation as much as they require corpses. The Paris riots by muslim youth have given the islamofascists a fresh lease on media life. Even the US media begins to notice. This will ensure more recruits join their band of butchers.

Could Al Qaeda have attempted to disrupt Jordan's relationship with the US? Possibly. Their attacks on hotels that serve Westerners certainly pressures Western Nations to make a separate peace. Perhaps Al Qaeda is as determined to isolate the United States as the US is to isolate Al Qaeda and its potential allies.

If that's the case, then Al Qaeda receive help from the US' own fifth column: The Reasonable secular progressives. MSM will find ways to blame Bush for Al Qaeda's latest agression. This will help foment popular opinion in the world agains the President even further. The electoral pressure on governments of the West may direct them to implement policies that further compromise the US' security interests. Popular unrest in dictatorships like Jordan could cause lead to similar results. How many bombs can go off before enraged Jordanians demand that the Kingdom end its cooperation with the US?

The forces of civilization can't allow the islamofascists to gain the initiative. Unfortunately, they're on the move, drawing fresh blood as they go.