Free Republic

AMMAN, Jordan — The plan was to unleash mayhem across an entire city and “bring Amman to its knees,” in the words of one security official. It would start with suicide bombings at two shopping malls, then build momentum as teams of terrorists blew up cars and raked cafes with machine-gun fire. In the midst of the chaos that would ensue, the attackers would turn their attention to the U.S. Embassy, the primary target and a long-sought prize for the organization that investigators say provided critical support for the scheme: al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Iraq. Using the terrorist group’s expertise and...

AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan foiled a major plot by an al Qaeda-linked cell to destabilize the key U.S. ally's security by bombing shopping centers and assassinating Western diplomats, state television said on Sunday. Security forces detained 11 suspects in connection with a plot going on since June to carry out attacks in the capital Amman using smuggled weapons and explosives brought from Syria, according to security officials cited by television.

The General Intelligence Department has foiled a major terrorist plot while in the planning and preliminary stages. The plot by a group of 11 terrorists associated with the ideology of Al Qaeda, was designed to target and carry out attacks against vital targets in Jordan including shopping centers, residential areas, diplomats and foreign nationals. The objective of the plot, labeled as 9/11 (2) in reference to the Amman hotel bombings of 2005, was to cause chaos and anarchy and spread fear among the population, setting the stage for further operations to follow. The group had intended to take advantage of...