AMMAN, 16 November 2005 — Jordan’s King Abdallah yesterday fired 11 top officials, including the kingdom’s national security adviser, in the wake of last week’s triple hotel bombings as the country introduced strict anti-terror measures.
The king appointed Marouf Al-Bakhit, Jordan’s ambassador to Israel, to replace outgoing security chief Saad Kheir, a former chief of Jordan’s intelligence department.
No details were given for the resignation of Kheir and 10 others, including Royal Court chief and former prime minister Faisal Fayez, one of the king’s closest confidants, and prominent religious advisers to Abdallah.
Fayez is expected to be appointed speaker of the 40-member Senate, a body appointed by the king that liaises with Jordan’s 110-member elected Parliament. He was replaced by Salam Al-Turk, a retired army general and a former government official.
The Jordanian TV announcement made no reference to last Wednesday’s attacks on three Amman hotels that killed 61 people but the bombings sparked national outrage and raised concerns over the handling of the country’s national security services.
Earlier in the day, the kingdom introduced strict anti-terror measures, including demanding all foreigners renting properties be reported to authorities within 48 hours. The government is also drafting the country’s first-ever anti-terror specific legislation, giving authorities the power to hold any suspect indefinitely, a top Interior Ministry official said.
Wednesday’s attacks on three hotels — Radisson SAS, Grand Hyatt and Days Inn — were staged by a team of Iraqis, including three men who managed to blow themselves up and a woman would-be bomber who claims her explosives-packed belt malfunctioned.
Sajida Mubarak Al-Rishawi, 35, from western Iraq’s Anbar province, is also the wife of the Radisson bomber, who killed more than 20 people in a Jordanian-Palestinian wedding, while three of her brothers were killed by US forces in Iraq.
Two friends of Sajida, who comes from Anbar’s provincial capital of Ramadi, told The Associated Press one of her brothers, known Al-Qaeda in Iraq cell leader Thamir Al-Rishawi, was killed during the April 2004 US operations in Fallujah when an air-to-ground missile hit his pickup.
Two other brothers, Ammar and Yassir, were killed in separate attacks against US troops in Ramadi, said the friends, who declined to be identified further because of fear of retribution from insurgents.
Two forensic crime experts from Interpol arrived in Amman yesterday to help in the investigation.
In a bid to stop further foreign militants operating covertly in Jordan, Interior Minister Awni Yirfas announced new regulations demanding all Jordanians notify authorities within 48 hours of any non-Jordanian renting an apartment or house. Authorities will demand Jordanians provide the names, nationalities and passport details of any foreigner renting a property.
Jordan has also begun drafting tough new anti-terrorism laws, which will likely be ready for Parliament debate early next year, the Interior Ministry official said.
— Additional input from The Associated Press
