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Failed bomber's brothers killed by U.S. forces

The Iraqi woman who attempted -- and failed -- to blow herself up in an Amman hotel had three brothers killed by U.S. forces, friends of the woman said.
/ Source: The Associated Press

The Iraqi woman who failed in her bid to blow herself up in an Amman hotel had three brothers killed by U.S. forces, friends of the woman said.

Meanwhile in the wake of the bombings, Jordanian officials unveiled tough new anti-terror measures Tuesday.

The killings of Sajida Mubarak al-Rishawi’s three brothers in Iraq’s volatile Anbar province is being considered as a possible motivation behind her bid to take part in last week’s triple bombings, which killed 60 people, including her husband and two Iraqi bombers.

Friends of al-Rishawi, who comes from Anbar’s provincial capital of Ramadi, told The Associated Press that three of her brothers were killed by U.S. forces.

Thamir al-Rishawi, regarded as a known member of an al-Qaida in Iraq terror cell operating in Anbar, was killed during the U.S. operations in Fallujah.

Two other brothers, Ammar and Yassir, were killed in two separate attacks against U.S. troops in Ramadi, said the two friends, who declined to be identified further because they feared retribution from insurgent forces.

Arrested in safe house
The would-be woman bomber was arrested Sunday in a safe house rented by her husband in a western Amman suburb.

She said in a televised confession that she wanted to join her husband in attacking the Radisson SAS hotel, but her explosives belt malfunctioned.

Her husband, identified as Ali Hussein Ali al-Shamari, did manage to detonate his bomb, however, killing more than 20 people attending a Jordanian-Palestinian wedding reception.

Al-Rishawi revealed no motive for trying to bomb the Radisson, saying only that her husband brought her to Jordan from Iraq and fitted her with an explosives belt for use in the hotel attack.

Jordanian intelligence officials say their interrogation of al-Rishawi, which could last for about a month before she is eventually charged, has been going slowly.

She could face the death penalty, security officials have said.

Police believe al-Rishawi may provide vital clues to al-Qaida in Iraq and possibly al-Zarqawi’s whereabouts. Authorities believe more people helped arrange the attacks, but it was unclear if they were among 12 suspects under arrest.

Jordan identified the two other Iraqi suicide bombers as Safaa Mohammed Ali and Rawad Jassem Mohammed, both 23.