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Jordan gunman `was acting alone`

CNN - September 5, 2006

AMMAN, Jordan (CNN) -- A gunman who fired on tourists in Jordan`s capital Monday, killing one and wounding six, was probably acting alone, a Jordanian government spokesman said.

On Tuesday, Nasser Judeh identified the man as 38-year-old Nabil Ahmed from the industrial city of Zarqa.

"Results of primary investigation confirm that he was acting alone and not connected to a terror group," according to Judeh.

But a security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that police were trying to determine if the gunman was enticed by Islamic militants or terror networks to carry out his mission. (Watch aftermath of Amman shooting -- 1:51)

The official added that Ahmed was a Jordanian of Palestinian origin who worked as a welder. He is believed to be an observant Muslim who once wore a beard -- traditional among some conservative Muslims -- but was clean-shaven on Monday, the official added.

Security sources said the gunman was from the same town as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former head of al Qaeda in Iraq who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in June.

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said she was "extremely saddened" by the attack. "Acts of violence such as this are as senseless as they are callous," she said in a statement.

The U.S. Embassy sent its "deepest condolences" to the victims. "We have the utmost confidence in the Jordanian security forces," it added.

The dead man was British and identified on Tuesday as Christopher Stokes, 30. Two British women, a Dutch man, an Australian woman, a New Zealand woman and a Jordanian tourist police officer were also wounded.

One of the two British women wounded, Karen Sparke, 47, from Salisbury, in western England, on Tuesday described her lucky escape.

"We were walking up some steps when we heard -- well, I didn`t realise it was a gunshot, I thought it was a firecracker -- and we turned around and saw this man pointing a gun at us and I got shot," she told the BBC from her hospital bed.

She said she looked over and saw her friends on the ground. "I went up the steps a bit further and stood round the corner, and I realised I was bleeding all over," she said. "We lost one of ours, and two of them have had operations."

Health Minister Saeed Darwazeh told AP the Dutch man had surgery on his liver. He said one of the two British women was in intensive care and the New Zealander was expected to have surgery to remove a bullet. The rest were in stable condition, he said.

A witness said the gunman yelled "Allahu Akbar," meaning "God is great," before opening fire on the tourists.

The incident took place near the Roman amphitheater in Amman, Jordan`s capital, a major tourist destination in the old part of the capital.

Monday`s shooting was the first major terror attack in Jordan -- a key U.S. ally -- since triple hotel blasts last year killed 63 people, including three suicide bombers.

"This is a cowardly terrorist attack, which we regret took place on Jordanian soil," Interior Minister Eid al-Fayez told reporters at the scene, according to AP.

"This operation is considered a terrorist act unless the man is found to be deranged," he said.

An Iraqi eyewitness described the incident. "I was walking when I saw someone pull out a pistol from his pocket ... and fire repeatedly," Mohammad Jawad Ali told Reuters.

"Then I saw one tourist who appeared to be dead and three who were injured. They were in a group of seven. A woman told me they were tourists from New Zealand and England."

The British Foreign Office did not change its travel advisory to Jordan beyond existing advice for travelers to take security precautions in view of "a high threat from terrorism in Jordan."