Sihiliâs two sons are also among those in custody and an Iraqi called Abu Hamid, who liaised between the Jordanian network and Iraq. A Zarqawi Internet communique issued Tuesday claims responsiblity for the attacks and stresses Eilat was targeted as well as US warships in Aqaba. DEBKAfileâs sources reveal the short cut the Jordanian pursuit and identification of the terrorists obtained from the US Navyâs hidden video-cameras.
It now transpires that the terrorists first tried to stage their attack three days earlier, last Tuesday, August 16, the day the USS Ashland and USS Kearsarge put into Aqaba port. They drove up to the quayâs entrance in two cars with their rocket launchers primed to fire at the vessels at point blank range and sink them with the hundreds of Marines and sailors aboard. All Qaeda meant this to be a suicide operation. However the US Navy, having drawn its lesson from the al Qaeda speedboat attack that crippled the USS Cole in Aden five years ago, now keeps each warship protected by a well-guarded âsterileâ ring. Security cameras record every movement near the ships on shore and in the water. The terrorists disguised as âport personnelâ were turned away at the protected zones. They gave up and tried again the following Friday. Then too they missed the US warships, killed one Jordanian soldier and fired a rocket that fell short of Eilat air port. By then, film of their first try was available and handed to Jordanian intelligence, enabling the pursuit to lay hands quickly on the al Qaeda terrorist team.
