Following the November 9, 2005 hotel bombings in Amman, Jordan, Al-Qaeda in Iraq posted several communiqués on Islamist forums in an attempt to explain the killing of innocent Muslims. The first of these communiqués [1], posted November 10, was a mere claim of responsibility for the bombings. The second communiqué [2], also from November 10, explained the reasons for choosing the particular locations that were targeted. The third [3], from November 11, gave details on the operation and on the individuals who carried it out.

On November 18, the organization again referred to the bombings: Al-Qaeda Leader in Iraq Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi issued an audio recording in his own voice, in which he reiterated the reasons for the attacks. Addressing the Muslims directly, he explained that that the killing of the celebrants at the wedding feast was totally accidental, and that his organization would never even consider harming innocent Muslims. Al-Zarqawi also set preconditions for stopping the terrorist attacks in Jordan, and threatened to assassinate King Abdallah.

After the bombings, several Islamist forums re-posted an audio recording from April 2004 in which al-Zarqawi had commented on Al-Qaeda's plan to carry out a chemical attack in Jordan - a plan that had been uncovered and foiled by the Jordanian security apparatuses. The recording presented a list of arguments explaining why Jordan must be targeted, and also stated that the Jordanian intelligence service had lied when it claimed that the aim of the planned attack was to murder Muslims and innocent people. In the recording, al-Zarqawi further stated: "We Muslims would not dare to shed [even] a drop of sacred [Muslim] blood unlawfully; [we will let] our throats [be slashed] before yours; we will sacrifice our lives for you, and we spill our blood to protect Islam and the Muslims."

The following are excerpts from the communiqués and recordings:

First Communiqué: Al-Qaeda Claims Responsibility

"In these blessed days, in which the lions of monotheism [4] fight against the tyranny of the Crusader infidels and the Shi'ite traitors on Iraqi soil... a number of [warriors] - lions from the best and most noble brigade, the Al-Baraa bin Malek Brigade [5] - set out on a new operation against the dens [of evil] that were established on Muslim soil in Amman, in order to protect the faith and raise the [banner] of monotheism. After studying the targets and carrying out surveillance, [we] chose several hotels that the Jordanian leader of infidels turned into a backyard for the enemies of the faith, the Jews and the Christians, and [into] a filthy breeding ground for traitors...

"In spite of the security measures taken by the traitor [King Abdallah] son of the traitor [King Hussein] in order to protect these dens, Al-Qaeda soldiers managed to reach their targets and carry out [their task]...

"Details about the operation and the [identity of] those who implemented it will be published in the future.

"The leaders of infidels in Amman should know that the protective wall that was built for the Jews to the east of the Jordan [River], and the rear base [that was established] for the armies of the Crusaders and of the government of the descendents of Ibn Al-Alqami [i.e. the Iraqi government] [6] are within the range of the jihad fighters and their operations...

"November 10, 2005

"Abu Maysara Al-Iraqi

"Information Department of Al-Qaeda in Iraq"

Second Communiqué: The Reasons for Selecting the Targets in Jordan

"Following the blessed attack [carried out] by the heroes of the nation, the lions of al-Baraa bin Malek Brigade, against some of the dens of evil in Amman, we saw fit to clarify - primarily for the monotheists - the reasons which motivated the jihad fighters to target these dens, so that everyone will know that we selected these targets only after verifying that they serve as centers for the war on Islam, and as [centers] of support for the Crusader presence in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and for the Jewish presence in Palestine.

"After carrying out surveillance on the targets and collecting inside information for a considerable period of time, we selected these hotels for numerous reasons, including the following [considerations]: These [hotels] have become favored centers of activity for intelligence apparatuses - especially the [intelligence apparatuses] of America, Israel, and several Western European countries - from which they wage their secret campaign, as part of what is called the 'war on terror,' in collaboration with the intelligence [services] of Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, and the Jordanian traitor. Their aim is to target the jihad fighters in Palestine, Iraq, and the Arab Peninsula. The Crusaders have unanimously agreed on the effectiveness of this center [in Jordan], and on the effectiveness of the coordination which [takes place] there in order to oppress the monotheists in the region, and they [i.e. the Crusaders] have never concealed this in their statements.

"Furthermore, these hotels have become safe rear headquarters which serve as places of residence and conference venues for the apostate [murtadd] government of the descendents of Ibn Al-Alqami [i.e. the Iraqi government] and for its guests, after the jihad fighters turned Baghdad into a raging fire that burns them even inside their Green Zone [a protected zone in central Baghdad which houses the Iraqi government and the embassies of the U.S. and Britain]. We discovered beyond a doubt that these hotels had served as activity centers of the apostate Iyad al-Allawi [former prime minister of Iraq and head of the Al-Wifaq Al-Watani party], who is being trained by the Crusaders for a new Dayton conspiracy, [7] as part of an alliance with weak-minded Sunnis. [The hotels were also used] as headquarters by [Iraqi Prime Minister] al-Ja'fari and his associates, by the heads of the treacherous army known as the Badr [8] [army], and especially by 'Ammar al-Hakim [a prominent member of the Shi'ite SCIRI party], with the aim of coordinating [efforts] with the government of apostasy and treason in Amman, and targeting the jihad enterprise.

"From these hotels, the Crusaders also operate the bases that they have established on Jordanian soil in order to train cohorts of apostates for the army of the infidel government in Baghdad. Consequently, they have turned into meeting places for officers of the so-called 'NATO Alliance' which supervises these bases in order to turn the Muslim land of Jordan into a safe rear base for the armies of the Crusaders and deserters of the faith, [a base from which they] set forth to Iraq in order to kill Muslims, shed their blood, and violate the honor of their women, while the Jordanian scoundrel and others shed crocodile tears over them. Thanks to the wall of security around these hotels, they have become safe breeding grounds for the filth of Jewish and Western tourists, who spread their licentiousness and lechery at the expense of the blood and suffering of the Muslims in this land.

"All these [people] should know that we will never hesitate to target these dens, wherever they may be, and that, in the next few days, the leaders of the infidels will witness an event [presumably another terrorist attack] which will make the current catastrophes seem insignificant. The lies and nonsense [spread by] the media, and the misleading [policy] of the infidel leaders, who shed their usual crocodile tears, will not harm us. We swear that they have never even paled [at the sight of] the Muslim blood that is being shed and the daily violation of the honor of modest Muslim women in their vicinity.

"November 10, 2005

"Abu Maysra Al-Iraqi

"Information Department of Al-Qaeda in Iraq"

Third Communiqué: Details of the Operation

"The squad which undertook the planning [of the operation in Amman], the preparation, and the implementation included three men and one woman: Abu Khubayb the commander, Abu Mu'adh, Abu 'Umayr, and our sister Um 'Umayr, who chose to accompany her husband on his quest for shahada [martyrdom].

"All the squad members, who are among the ansar [i.e. supporters of Al-Qaeda] in Iraq, vowed to one another that they would die, and chose the most expedient way to satisfy Allah and receive what no eye has ever seen and no ear has ever heard [i.e. Paradise]... They entered the target [area], penetrating all the defenses that the lackey of the British, the descendent of the traitor Abdallah II, has boasted about for so long.

"Explosives belts were chosen in order to hit the targets with accuracy and cause the maximal number of deaths. At the moment of implementation, the jihad fighter Commander Abu Khubayb, our brother and hero, pounced on the heads of the infidels, sending them to their deaths, and thus launched the operation in the bar of the den [of evil called] the Radisson Hotel. He was followed by the heroic jihad fighter Abu Mu'adh, who chose [as his target] the den [of evil called] the Amman Hyatt Hotel, and by Abu 'Umayr and his wife, who chose the den [of evil called] the Days Inn. They shook these dens of malignancy, heresy and debauchery, which have long served as centers from which the Jews and their followers launch their conspiracies to harm the Muslims under the protection of the leader of the infidels in Amman.

"The Jews should know that the separation fence they erected to the east of the Jordan River in the time of the British Empire is now within the range of the lions of monotheism... and it will not be long before they feel the wrath of the jihad fighters, who will not be deterred by the false rumors of the traitors and the lies of the perverts, and this will be the beginning of the salvation...

"November 11, 2005

"Abu Maysra Al-Iraqi

"Information Department of Al-Qaeda in Iraq"

Al-Zarqawi Audio Recording: "The Zero Hour Has Come and it is Time to Settle the Score With the Jordanian Regime"

"The world heard the commotion that the apostate Jordanian government raised through its media channels, which are controlled by its security apparatuses, and which tried to claim that the Muslims of Jordan have become victims of terrorists who are capable of nothing but bloodshed.

"This lie was presented in very emotional terms after three lions from Al-Rafidain [i.e. Al-Qaeda in Iraq] [9] left their lion's den in Baghdad and [penetrated] the heart of Amman in order to destroy three dens [of evil] where Jews, Christians, and others have long been gathering to fight Allah and his messenger.

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"Al-Qaeda took this blessed step for the following reasons:

"A. The Jordanian government is known for its heresy and for declaring war on Allah and his messenger, revoking [the authority of] the shari'a and establishing man-made rules.

"B. This regime's army has become a devoted guardian of the Zionist state, protecting its flanks. Some jihad warriors who wanted to enter the blessed land in order to kill the brother of apes and pigs [i.e. the Jews] were killed by treacherous bullets that were fired at their backs by the soldiers of this treacherous regime.

"C. The obscenity and corruption spread [by the Jordanian government] have turned Jordan into a quagmire of utter profanity and debauchery, and anyone who has seen the hotels, the houses of entertainment, the dance parties, the wine bars, and the tourist resorts in Aqaba, in the Dead Sea [region], and in other places is wrenched with sorrow over what this family [i.e. the Jordanian royal family] - both its men and its women - has done to this country, whose people are good.

"D. This heretic country has given the Zionist enemy a free hand, and has allowed it to penetrate deep into the Jordanian society on the economic, political, and social levels. Israeli tycoons have taken over most of the companies, banks, plants, factories, etc., so that they now control the source of the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of Jordanians, and the most solid evidence for this is the Al-Hassan Industrial Estate in Irbid.

"E. There are secret American prisons [in Jordan] which are directly supervised by the Jordanian intelligence apparatuses. [These prisons hold] dozens of jihad fighters from different countries, who are subjected to various kinds of torture and humiliation by the hangmen minions of the Jordanian intelligence [apparatus] who act on behalf of the Americans...

"F. As for the situation in Iraq, Jordan has served and is still serving as a rear supply base for the American army. The [Jordanian] regime has opened the country wide to the Crusader enemy, allowing it to do as it pleases, and the country has become a rear base from which American planes set forth to pour wrath upon the Muslims in Iraq. And let us not forget the army of Jordanian agents [who serve as] translators, or the fleet of Jordanian trucks and trailers that carry supplies and equipment to the American army in Iraq, which uses them to fight against Islam and kill the jihad fighters.

"This is a message to the Muslims in Jordan: Let us assure you that we cherish your lives more than anyone else [cherishes them]. How could it be otherwise? We love you more than [we love] ourselves and our [own] children. We know that you are victims of this criminal regime that slaughtered your children, as it did to the Muslims in M'aan, and left your women alive, causing you humiliation and shame.

"As for the claim [made by] this treacherous regime, [namely] that you are victims of the jihad fighters, it is a blatant lie, since we would never spill your blood, God forbid. If we wished to kill innocent people, as this apostate regime claims, we would not have endangered these lions [i.e. those who carried out the attack] who [had to] penetrate the defenses around the hotels. If we wanted to spill your blood, God forbid, it would have been easier for the martyrs to blow themselves up in public places where people gather by the hundreds and therefore make easy targets - [places] like the Al-Hashimiya square, the Al-Abdali Center, or commercial centers like the Safeway.

"[Do you think that] the lions of Al-Qaeda, who fired missiles on American warships in Eilat, cannot fire [these missiles] on concentrations of innocent people in Amman, instead of endangering themselves by coming to Aqaba, which is surrounded by security barriers and has become a fortified security zone?

"Know that we selected these hotels only after we learned - after scoping them out for over two months and collecting information from reliable sources inside the hotels [themselves] - that they have come to [serve] as headquarters for the Jewish, American, and Iraqi intelligence apparatuses.

"Regarding the Radisson hotel - most of the people of the Israeli embassy stay there, as well as Israeli tourists, and this is also true for the Days Inn Hotel. As for Hyatt Amman, it is a den [of evil] for the Zionist, American, and Iraqi intelligence [apparatuses]...

"Why should we bomb wedding feasts? If we wanted to do so, there are wedding halls all over the country, with their gates open wide and unguarded. The report [which claimed] that the brother who carried out the martyrdom operation exploded himself among the celebrants at a wedding feast is a nothing but a lie [spread by] the evil Jordanian [security] apparatuses, who have been misleading the people for many years...

"As for the Muslims who were killed in this operation, we beseech Allah to have mercy on them and forgive them, and swear that they were not the [intended] target of the operation. We did not intend, and would never have intended for a moment, to harm them, even had they been infidels. This, assuming they were [really] in the area of the attack. The brothers who carried out the martyrdom operation meant to target the halls which served as meeting places for intelligence officers of several infidel Crusader countries and countries allied with them. The people [at the wedding feast] were killed because part of the ceiling collapsed from the intensity of the blast, and it is no secret that this was not intended; it was an unintended accident, which had not been taken into account...

"To this apostate Jordanian regime, we say: Today, thanks to Allah's [help] alone, we give you a taste of what you have been doing to the Muslims for decades. The time in which the nation tolerated these humiliations and insults [without protest] is passed. We tell you that the zero hour has come, and it is time to settle the score. We will not stop attacking the Jews and the Crusaders in the land which spills the blood of members of the purest faith in history [i.e. Islam]... unless the following conditions are met:

"A. Withdrawal of the American and British forces stationed on Jordanian soil which use [Jordan] as a rear base [from which] they fight the jihad fighters in Iraq.

"B. Closing the American and Israeli embassies in Amman, from which [they] wage the campaign of deceit and the war against the Muslims, with the aim of completing what is known as 'the Greater Middle East [Initiative].'

"C. The training of the Shi'ite police and of the agent Iraqi army must stop.

"D. The secret prisons for jihad fighters must be closed.

"E. The [Jordanian] diplomatic representation in Iraq must be removed, and not replaced by any other delegation at any level.

"We warn our Muslim brothers in Jordan to protect their lives by staying away from the following places:

"A. The bases and military airports which house the American and British forces, both inside and outside the cities.

"B. The hotels where the Jewish and Crusader tourists stay - in Amman, the Dead Sea, Aqaba, Petra, Jarash and other places.

"C. The embassies and consulates [of all the countries] whose governments took part in the war against Iraq.

"A last message to the young leader of the infidels in Amman: I turn to you after you ranted and raved, and promised [to mete out] a painful punishment to those who were behind these blessed operations. Listen to my words, perhaps they will find their way into your ears... This is what befell your ancestors, the infidel leaders of the Quraysh [tribe]. Think well of the shame they incurred in this world and in the next, and then remember that you followed them and emulated them, and even exceeded them in betraying Allah and his messenger...

"Oh descendant of traitors, remember that the one who enabled Abu Mas'ud to overcome Abu Jahal and cut off his head can do unto you what he did [to Abu Jahal] through [the agency of] oppressed Muslims, whom you did your best to fight and to steer away from their faith...

"We do not doubt for one moment that your star is fading. This is what Allah does to oppressors, and there is no substitute for Allah's way, as stated [in the Koran]: 'When the promise of the Lord cometh to pass, He will lay him low, for the promise of the Lord is true.' [Koran 18:98]." [10]

Al-Zarqawi's April 2004 Audio Recording, Responding to the Exposure of his Organization's Plan to Carry Out a Chemical Terrorist Attack in Jordan

"The world heard the great commotion raised by the Jordanian security forces, which [produced] a melodramatic play in attempt to portray the Jordanian people as victims of terrorist [organizations] that are stretching their long tentacles to harm and kill them.

"The intention was to show the world that they [i.e. the security forces] serve as an armored shield and a sharp sword against anyone who threatens the security of the people, in order to conceal the despicable role that they played when they sank their talons and teeth into the hearts of the Muslims, tortured them, drove them away, killed them and imprisoned them, [all] in a failed attempt to protect the honor and safety of the Jewish state. As one of their officers once contemptuously said to an Islamic leader imprisoned in their jail: 'Do not [even] dream about the liberation of Jerusalem as long as the Jordanian intelligence [service] exists.' [This was] a true statement from the mouth of a liar who presumed to describe an obvious reality that only the blind can fail to see.

"The Jordanian intelligence [service] lied twice: Once when it stated that we intended to murder Muslims and kill innocent people, and a second time when it declared that it had foiled the plan in order to protect the heart [of Jordan] and the blood of the Muslims. [The truth is that] they did this only to protect their masters and allies - the Jews and the Christians.

"We Muslims would not dare to shed [even] a drop of sacred [Muslim] blood unlawfully; [we will let] our throats [be slashed] before yours, we will sacrifice our lives for you, and we spill our blood to protect Islam and the Muslims.

"The imaginary numbers cited [in the Jordanian announcement], and the claim about a chemical bomb that was meant to kill thousands, are blatant lies, and Allah knows that if we [really] had such a bomb we would not hesitate one moment before using it on some Israeli town like Eilat, Tel Aviv or some other town.

"The tons [of material] that were manufactured are raw materials that can be bought in the [open] market, as brother Azami Al-Jayusi, Allah free him from his imprisonment, said. The chemical bomb and the poisons [mentioned] are an invention of the evil Jordanian [security] apparatuses, as clearly evident from the torture marks that could be seen on the hands and face of brother [Al-Jayusi].

"It is true that there was a plan to totally destroy the building of the intelligence [service]. This operation was [aimed] at the dark forces of evil in our region, based on the following reasons:

"A. The Jordanian government is known for its heresy, for declaring war on Allah and on his messenger, for revoking the [authority of the] shari'a and for spreading obscenity and debauchery. It has exceeded all the other traitor Arab governments in this, and has become an instrument that any infidel enemy [can] use to serve his needs.

"B. Jordan was and still is a rear supply base that provides food and weapons to the occupying American army in Iraq, and it exceeds even Kuwait in this capacity. It was trained to serve as one of the main supply arteries, by means of the air route that starts in Jordanian [Army] bases like Safawi, Mafraq, Marka, Jafer and Al-Azraq and leads to Kurdish airports in the north [of Iraq].

"C. The Jordanian intelligence [service] strained its hearing and sight, and put the most serious efforts into persecuting the riders of Islam in all the battlefields of jihad, to the extent that its jail has actually become an Arab Guantanamo, and any [prisoner] who had withstood the American interrogation in Pakistan or Afghanistan was sent to Jordan, where he was subjected to various tortures. Bothers from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Chechnya, Iraq, Egypt and other countries have been sitting for over two years in the detention cells of the Jordanian intelligence [service], including our brother the warrior Abu Zubeida, may Allah free them all. [The Jordanian intelligence service] has become a major source of data and information for any enemy of Islam who seeks to annihilate the warriors and harm the riders [of Islam].

"D. As for the Iraqi arena - here, too, the Jordanian Mossad implements its plot of defrauding and infiltrating the Iraqi society using the Jordanian embassy [in Iraq] as a diplomatic cover, and using [forged] identity cards, etc., so that the Jordanian embassy has turned into a lair for the [Israeli] Mossad which covets the treasures of the Land of the Euphrates. Allah is witness that, during the bombardment of Baghdad, before the city fell, the Jordanian embassy did not close for one minute, even though all other embassies and consulates closed before the start of the Crusader war.

"E. We will not forget the army of translators, the Jordanian agents who monitor all the passersby in order to track down jihad fighters that the Americans are unable to identify. [This] in addition to the fleet of Jordanian trailers and trucks that convey food, prefabricated buildings and other supplies to the American army, which relies on this help in its war against the jihad fighters.

"In conclusion, the scales tip this way and that in battle, and the wheel of time is constantly turning. We have a history of clashes with you, oh government of Jordan, whose horrors whiten the hair of children; [this history encompasses] events that have already occurred, and [also] others, more terrible and bitter, that are yet to come." [11]