Jordan airs video of purported plot
Police killed four suspects possibly linked to the conspiracy.
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) -- State television aired a videotape of four men admitting they were part of an Al-Qaida plot to attack the U.S. Embassy and other targets in Jordan using a combination of conventional and chemical weapons.
A commentator on the tape aired Monday said the suspects had prepared enough explosives to kill 80,000 people.
One of the alleged conspirators, Azmi al-Jayousi, said that he was acting on the orders of Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian wanted by the United States for reportedly organizing terrorists to fight U.S. troops in Iraq on behalf of Al-Qaida. U.S. officials have offered a $10 million reward for his capture.
Jordan disclosed the plot earlier this month and said it had arrested several suspects. Four other terror suspects believed linked to the conspiracy died in a shootout with police in Amman last week.
Al-Jayousi, identified as the head of a Jordanian terror cell, said he first met al-Zarqawi in Afghanistan, where al-Jayousi said he studied explosives, "before Afghanistan fell."
He said he later met al-Zarqawi in neighboring Iraq to plan the attacks, but was not specific about when.
"I have pledged loyalty to Abu-Musab to fully be obedient and listen to him without discussion," al-Jayousi said in the 20-minute videotape.
Targets
The commentator on the tape, who wasn't further identified, said the plotters targeted Jordan's secret service, its prime minister's office and the U.S. Embassy.
"At least 80,000 people would have been killed," the commentator said. Al-Zarqawi "is the terrorist" who plotted this operation."
A Web site known for publicizing messages from Muslim extremists carried a purported claim of responsibility Monday from al-Zarqawi for suicide boat attacks against Gulf oil terminals Saturday that killed three Americans and disabled Iraq's biggest terminal for more than 24 hours.
The Jordanian television segment showed still photographs of al-Jayousi and nine other suspects, including the four killed in last week's clashes with security forces. Three of the slain men were identified as Syrians.
Jordanian officials have said the plotters entered the country from neighboring Syria in at least three vehicles filled with explosives, detonators and raw material to be used in bomb-making. Syria has denied the claims. In the videotape, however, the militants said they acquired the vehicles in Jordan.
Another Jordanian suspect, car mechanic Hussein Sharif Hussein, was shown saying al-Jayousi asked him to buy vehicles and modify them so they could crash through gates and walls.
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