At Least One American Among Dead in Jordan

[ECH1969]

At least one American was among the 56 people killed in the Amman hotel bombings, a U.S. Embassy official said Thursday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with embassy rules, said Wednesday's triple bombings also wounded at least two Americans.

Hundreds of angry Jordanians rallied outside one of the three U.S.-based hotels that were attacked in succession by suicide bombers Wednesday night. The group al-Qaida in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for the bombings.

In an Internet statement, al-Qaida in Iraq linked the blasts at the Grand Hyatt, the Radisson SAS and the Days Inn hotels to the war in Iraq and called Amman the "backyard garden" for U.S. operations.

Protesters including women and children gathered outside a bombed hotels, shouting, "Death to al-Zarqawi, the villain and the traitor!" Drivers honked the horns of vehicles decorated with Jordanian flags and posters of the king. A helicopter hovered overhead. "We sacrifice our lives for you, Amman!" the protesters chanted.

http://www.bdtonline.com/articles/2005/11/10/ap/headlines/d8dpmdv86.txt