2005 Amman bombings The 2005 Amman bombings were a series of coordinated bomb attacks on three hotels in Amman , Jordan , on 9 November 2005 . The attacks killed 60 people and injured 115 others . The explosion s — at the Grand Hyatt Hotel , the Radisson SAS Hotel , and the Days Inn — started at around 20 : 50 local time ( 18 : 50 UTC ) at the Grand Hyatt . The three hotels are often frequented by foreign diplomats . The bomb at the Radisson SAS exploded in the Philadelphia Ballroom , where a wedding hosting hundreds of guests was taking place . The attacks . Radisson SAS . At the Radisson SAS Hotel ( now known as the " Landmark Hotel " ) , two suicide bombers ( a husband and wife team — Ali Hussein Ali al - Shamari and Sajida Mubarak Atrous al - Rishawi ) — entered the Philadelphia Ballroom , where Ashraf Akhras and his bride , Nadia Al - Alami , were celebrating their wedding with around 900 Jordanian and Palestinian guests . Sajida al - Rishawi was unable to detonate her belt . Her husband Ali al - Shamari , apparently admonished her and told her to get out of the room . As she was leaving , the lights went out in the ballroom , Ali jumped onto a dining - room table and detonated himself . Amongst the 38 people killed in the explosion were the fathers of the bride and groom . In addition , the explosion destroyed the ballroom , blew out the large windows bordering the street , and knocked down ceiling panels . The hotel lobby was also affected : ceiling panels and light fixtures collapsed , furniture was destroyed , and the hotel ' s glass doors were shattered . Cleanup and rebuilding commenced shortly afterwards . Grand Hyatt . The second blast happened about from the Radisson SAS . It destroyed the hotel ' s entrance and brought down pillars and ceiling tiles , along with badly damaging the reception and bar areas . After the bomber ordered orange juice in the hotel ' s coffee shop , he went to another room ( possibly to get his explosive belt ) and then came back and detonated his bomb . Seven hotel employees were killed in this blast , as were Syrian - American movie producer Moustapha Akkad and his daughter , Rima . Akkad , who is best known for producing the " Halloween " series of slasher film s , was also the producer of " Mohammad , Messenger of God " . At the time of his death , he was in the early stages of producing a film about Saladin , the Kurdish Muslim leader who expelled the Crusaders from Palestine . Hyatt began cleanup shortly after the attacks and reopened their hotel on November 19 . Days Inn . At the Days Inn , the bomber entered the restaurant on the hotel ' s ground floor . He tried to detonate his explosive belt but had trouble ; a waiter noticed this and called security . The bomber ran outside the hotel and successfully detonated himself , killing three members of a Chinese military delegation . Property damage at the Days Inn was expected to amount to around $ 200 , 000 . Casualties . According to one Jordanian official , Maj . Bashir al - Da ' aja , early in the investigation , local authorities confirmed a series of coordinated suicide attacks as the cause of the blasts . Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Marwan al - Muasher initially announced that at least 67 people had died and 300 people had been injured . However , the Jordanian government subsequently revised the number of casualties down to at least 59 dead and 115 injured . The adjustment in figures was not explained . Among the dead were thirty - six Jordanians , mostly from a Muslim wedding , including the fathers of both the bride and groom . The rest were six Iraqis , five Palestinians , four Americans , two Arab - Israelis , two Bahrainis , three Chinese delegates of the People ' s Liberation Army ( PLA ) , one Saudi , and one Indonesia n citizen . The Palestinian fatalities included Major - General Bashir Nafeh , the head of military intelligence in the West Bank , Colonel Abed Allun , a high - ranking Preventive Security forces official , Jihad Fatouh , the commercial attache at the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo , and Mosab Khorma , a senior Palestinian - American banker and former Paltel CEO . Both of the Israeli fatalities were Arabs . One was Husam Fathi Mahajna , a businessman from Umm al - Fahm , the other was an unidentified resident of East Jerusalem . Syrian - American film producer Moustapha Akkad ( famous for producing the horror film " Halloween " ) , who was in the Grand Hyatt lobby , was severely wounded and died in a hospital on November 11 . His 34 - year - old daughter Rima was also killed in the blast . Suspects . Jordanian police initially stated that there were at least four attackers ( the fourth , a female , was later captured ) , including a couple , who spoke Iraqi - accented Arabic . A number of Iraqis were among the more than 100 suspects who were arrested in the following days . Police claimed to have found maps that were used in planning the attack . On November 12 , Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher Jordan confirms the attackers were Iraqi and had entered the country three days before the attacks , and there were only three attackers . On November 13 , King Abdullah announced the arrest of a woman believed to be a fourth would - be suicide bomber , whose explosive belt failed to detonate . The three dead suicide bombers have been identified , and their names were announced by Deputy Prime Minister Muasher . They were Ali Hussein Ali al - Shamari ( SAS Radisson ) , Rawad Jassem Mohammed Abed ( Grand Hyatt ) , and Safaa Mohammed Ali ( Days Inn ) . The woman in custody has been identified as Sajida Mubarak Atrous al - Rishawi . She was married to al - Shamari and intended to blow herself up at the Radisson . Muasher also said that she was the sister of a close aide of Abu Musab al - Zarqawi . Source of the attacks . An Internet statement released the day after claimed that the bombers were : Abu Khabib , Abu Muaz , Abu Omaira and Om Omaira , all Iraqis . Members of the Jordanian government had already begun blaming the attacks on the Islamic terrorist group . Two U . S . intelligence officials agreed , describing the style of the attacks as bearing the trademark of al - Zarqawi , who has , in the past , discussed the possibility of launching attacks outside of Iraq . Of late , there have been concerns that terrorist attacks may occur in Jordan , due in part to its close proximity to Iraq , but also due to its government ' s cooperation in the United States ' War on Terrorism . Notably , the Radisson hotel was previously an Islamist target during the 2000 millennium attack plots . Jordanian police foiled the original attempt after arresting Khadr Abu Hoshar , a Palestinian militant , along with 15 others on December 12 , 1999 . All three of the hotels are frequented by American , Israeli , and European military contractors , journalists , business people , and diplomats , and the city itself has long been described as a " gate way " for westerners into Baghdad and Iraq at large , leading many to entertain the possibility of a connection between the Amman bombings and the war in Iraq . In American shorthand date notation , the month number is followed by the day number , i . e . 9 / 11 corresponds to September 11 . However , elsewhere in the world , the month number follows the day number , thus , the 9th of November would be notated in most nations , including Jordan , as 9 / 11 . It has been speculated that this may constitute a parallel between the two dates ( and thus to the September 11 , 2001 attacks ) . Response . - King Abdullah II cut short a state visit to Kazakhstan and returned to Jordan , where he pledged that " justice will pursue the criminals " and condemned the attacks . King Abdullah also cancelled an upcoming visit to Israel . Jordanians reacted to the bombings with outrage . Thousands of people in Amman participated in protests against the bombings , chanting " burn in hell , Abu Musab al - Zarqawi " . King Abdullah and Queen Rania visited several victims of the bombings in hospital . The King said " The pain you felt for the loss of your beloved ones , who were killed for no crime they committed , was shared by all Jordanians , regardless of their origins or religions . " A relative of one of the victims presented a copy of the Qur ' an to the King during his visit to the hospital . The family of Abu Musab al - Zarqawi ( née Ahmed Fadheel Nazzal al - Khalayleh ) , the al - Khalayleh tribe , took out half - page advertisements in Jordan ' s three main newspapers , to denounce him and his actions . 57 members of the al - Khalayleh family , including al - Zarqawi ' s brother and cousin , also reiterated their strong allegiance to the king . The ads said " " As we pledge to maintain homage to King Abdullah and to our precious Jordan . . . we denounce in the clearest terms all the terrorist actions claimed by the so - called Ahmed Fadheel Nazzal al - Khalayleh , who calls himself Abu - Musab al - Zarqawi " . . . " We announce , and all the people are our witnesses , that we - the sons of the al - Khalayleh tribe - are innocent of him and all that emanates from him , whether action , assertion or decision . " . . . " We sever links with him until doomsday . " "