Thursday, November 10 2005 17:20 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Cairo: The al-Qaeda terror group has claimed responsibility of three suicide bombings in Jordan that killed at least 57 people, according to a message posted on the Internet today (Nov 10, 2005).

"A group of lions of al-Qaeda launched a new attack on some of the dens in the land of the Muslims in Amman," the Web posting said.

It claimed the three hotels that were bombed in Amman, the Jordanian capital, on Wednesday night had become 'the back garden for the enemy of religion: Jews and crusaders' a stock term for Westerners.

The posting could not be authenticated, but it appeared on an Islamic Web site that acts as a clearing house for statements by militant groups.

The statement was signed in the name of the spokesman for al-Qaeda in Iraq, a group which is led by the Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

While the group is based in Iraq, it is part of the al-Qaeda network led by Osama bin Laden and there have been credible reports of correspondence bet bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, and al-Zarqawi

Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher had said shortly after the blasts that al-Zarqawi was a 'prime suspect'. Al-Zarqawi is known for his animosity to the Jordanian monarchy.

The posting did not name King Abdullah II, but it twice referred to the 'tyrant of Jordan,' adding he should know that 'the backyard camp for the crusaders' army is now within range of the holy warriors.'