Amman: Jordan's King Abdullah pledged on Thursday to catch militants who were behind three suicide bombings that ripped through luxury hotels in Jordan's Capital and killed 60 people.
In one of the worst attacks to hit Jordan in modern history, two suicide bombers turned crowded wedding parties into scenes of blood and panic at the Grand Hyatt and the nearby Radisson SAS in central Amman.
A third targeted a Days Inn hotel.
"We will pursue those criminals and those who are behind them, and we will reach them wherever they are," the monarch said in a televised address one day after bombers staged the attack.
Deputy Prime Minister Marwan al-Muasher said that the attacks killed 60 and wounded 150. ?The operation was executed by three suicide bombers who were wearing explosive belts. Two entered the hotels, the other blew himself up outside the hotel in a car," he said.
"We will pull them from their holes and bring them to justice," King Abdullah said in a brief message to Jordanians.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, said in a statement on an Islamist website, "A group of our best lions" had carried out the attacks against the hotels because they were used by US and Israeli spies".
"Some hotels were chosen which the Jordanian despot had turned into a backyard for the enemies of the faith, the Jews and crusaders," said the statement, referring to Jordan's King Abdullah.
Most victims were Jordanians. China said three of its nationals were killed. A Palestinian diplomat said that a senior Palestinian officer and two other officials had died.
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Police spokesman Bashir al-Da'jeh said five Iraqis, a Saudi and an Indonesian were also among the dead. One American was killed and one wounded.
Jordan mourning
"The world saw with horror the attacks on innocent people in Jordan by killers who defile a great religion," US President George W. Bush said in Washington, adding the US and its allies must remain firm in fighting terrorism.
Washington had already put a $25 million bounty on Zarqawi.
In Washington, Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi predicted an upsurge in attacks like the hotel bombings, saying Islamic insurgents will open another front in other parts of the world, including the Arab world, as they are weakened in Iraq.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Farouq Kasrawi said the attacks would not alter the policies of the kingdom, a close US ally bordered by Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, en route to the Middle East, said Washington would offer any help it could and might include Amman in her regional tour.
"If they believe it would be helpful we would make a stop," she said at Ireland's Shannon Airport. She is due to visit Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the West Bank.
Jordan is one of two Arab countries that have signed peace treaties with Israel. It helped Washington in the war in Iraq.
Jordan had previously escaped major attacks. The authorities say their vigilance has foiled many earlier bomb plots.
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