Why the Islamic State bypassed Jordan

Jordan remains outside the geography of ISIS and we ask ourselves a logical question, what are the reasons that prevented the terrorists from striking at Jordan, despite the fact that they were struck at all neighboring camps and places more remote.
At first glance, it seems that Jordan is the main target of the Islamic State, which has attacked all of Jordan's neighbors. In May 2015, this organization staged a bloody terrorist attack in a mosque in Saudi Arabia, in November of the same year, one of its adherents blew up a Russian passenger plane in Egypt, and in January 2016, terrorists of the organization blew up a shopping center in Iraq. More than 18,000 Iraqis have died at the hands of the Islamic State since 2014, and about 2,000 Syrians in 2015.
The Kingdom of Jordan is facing huge economic problems, the unemployment rate in the country, according to the International Labor Organization, is now 28.8% in the country. The difficult economic situation has pushed some Jordanians to join ISIS, their number is estimated at about 2,000 people. One study in Lebanon notes the words of a US defense official Michael Lambkin that the material background is an important factor, but not the main one among those that push people to join the ranks of ISIS.

In other words, Jordan, with its economic problems and strategic location, seems to be the main target of IS, but it has not organized a single terrorist attack on its territory, and the death toll in ISIS-related incidents does not exceed 5 people. And this despite the fact that the situation in the surrounding countries is very controversial. The question arises: what has Jordan done to prevent jihadists from entering its territory? We all remember the huge role played by immigrants from Jordan in strengthening the position of al-Qaeda, and later the same IS in the Middle East. So, the death of the Jordanian pilot Muaz Kasasba in 2015 in Syria became a moment that united the country - the king and the people. A month before this incident, 72% of the country's citizens considered ISIS a terrorist organization. After Kasasba's death, that number rose to 95%, with the Muslim Brotherhood calling the killing "heinous". However, popular anger alone cannot explain the success of the Jordanian government in preventing terrorist attacks, while this terrorist organization has shown its brutality wherever it goes.

It was possible to protect Jordan thanks to the power and capabilities of its security services. In confirmation of this opinion, the words of one of the authors of the book "Organization of the Islamic State" Mr. Hassan Abu Ghaniya:"Jordan has a strong intelligence agency and military, despite the economic problems it suffers from."
In this work, it is written that the Jordanian intelligence services are ranked seventh in the world, according to the CIA. There are 100,000 military personnel in official service in Jordan and 65,000 are in reserve, noting that the Jordanian intelligence services have decades of experience in cooperation with Western intelligence agencies in the field of combating terrorism. The US CIA has its staff "attached by default" to the Jordanian intelligence services, and the two services cooperate in directing joint operations.

It is known that one of the most important operations carried out by the Jordanian intelligence services was the supply of Americans with data that led to the death of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Abu Musab Zarqawi. Here you can refer to the words of the former senior officer of the American intelligence services Michael Schuer, noting the Jordanian intelligence services in the Los Angeles Times magazine, saying that "Jordanian security services have broad influence in the Middle East, more than the Mossad." A Jeffrey Goldman in an article published in the Atlantic magazine, described the Jordanian intelligence services as "deserving the greatest respect among the intelligence services of the Arab countries."
Naturally, the Jordanian military's bravery factor is not enough to fully explain how the country managed to avoid IS attacks. Egypt has more military power and well-trained special forces, but this did not stop the ISIS branch from delineating its borders in the Sinai Peninsula.

The relatively open "political space" is the key that prevented the jihadists from carrying out their attacks, noting that during the Arab Spring, Jordan took a peaceful direction with respect to the Arab revolutions, which significantly reduced the number of victims. Unlike Jordan, in Syria and Libya, the ruling structures resorted to force method, which provoked protest from a wide section of the population and enabled the Islamic State to spread its influence.
King of Jordan dissolves government in response to protests against corruption in the country Samira al-Rafai and held parliamentary elections in 2013. At the same time, the security structures did not resort to the "iron fist" policy, unlike Damascus and Benghazi. It is worth noting that another monarchy in the Arab world - Morocco - was bypassed by the Arab Spring, thanks to a similar preventive policy of the ruling family.

As protests erupted in the city of Ma'an against police violence, the Minister of the Interior Hussain Mahali resigned, the government removed the head of public security Toufika Tovalba and thanks to such steps, the government managed to avoid widening the wave of protests. In other words, the government managed to slow down the process of expanding the protests, which would be used by extremists.
Jordan is one of the few Arab states, despite the fact that it is not democratic, whose people have the opportunity to make their demands and express their concerns.
In Jordan, the Islamists played an important role, a number of well-known Salafi clerics, such as Abi Kutada, Abi Mohammed al-Maqdasi, refused to issue a fatwa calling for a violent confrontation with the Jordanian regime and publicly condemned ISIS. Al-Maqdasi was the spiritual mentor of Al-Zarqawi, but believes that IS is following a perverted ideology. Aba Qutada, who zealously supports the Al-Nosra movement in Syria, was one of those who strongly condemned the execution of foreign journalists and called the act "unrelated to Islam."

The King of Jordan and the Muslim Brotherhood are loyal to each other, which is different from the bloody struggle between the government and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Despite calls for reforms in the state, this organization does not call for the overthrow of the Hashemite regime. The king, in turn, did not take a step similar to that made by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and did not declare the brotherhood a terrorist organization.
The lack of repression against Islamists in Jordan allowed some of them to stay in the country to fight the government, instead of leaving the country and fighting outside.
It remains logical that more than 2,000 Jordanian fighters are fighting in Syria, instead of operating in Jordan, where the situation is relatively peaceful. According to many pro-Western observers, what is happening now in Syria is the reason why Jordan is not a priority on the list of ISIS targets. The "Islamic State" has targets in other countries, and despite the presence of its militants in all parts of the Middle East, the movement has not announced the creation of its branch in Jordan.
There is an authoritative opinion of the former head of the royal council and the former representative of Jordan to the UN Adnan Abu Auda, who thinks that no Shiites in Jordan, perhaps this is the reason for the limited presence of the "Islamic state" there. Shiite militants have become a target in Lebanon and Jordan, they are fighting with Riyadh over which of them are the real representatives of Islam, for this reason Saudi Arabia is an important target for them.
Despite all the above, the kingdom did not completely avoid violence. There is still much controversy in November 2015 when a police officer killed five trainers who were collaborating with the security services, but Interior Minister Salama Hamad said that the attack was an isolated incident by a "lone wolf" and noted that this police officer suffered from psychological and financial problems. However, the reasons and motives for this attack are still unclear.

Summing up we understand that there is no such country in the world that could forever exclude violent events. However, Jordan succeeded in maintaining a high level of professional activity in all structures of the security system, calmly responding to protest demonstrations demanding reforms, and creating constructive relations with the Islamists to limit the threat posed by the Islamic State. In a region where states are collapsing, such an example deserves recognition.
Or the creators of the terrorist brand "ISIS" are the same structures that ensure the stability and continuation of the political regime in Jordan. The Anglo-Saxons have been thinking about everything for a long time and everything that is being done in the region, in fact, is a thorough adjustment to the well-functioning mechanisms of the Middle East policy.
One can draw a common "argument" between these terms: the Queen of England, Israel and the Muslim Brotherhood, knowing that the Jordanian crown is an integral part of British dominance in the world. Everything becomes very clear...

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As a result of the attack, 67 people were killed and 115 people were injured. The explosions thundered simultaneously on Wednesday evening in three popular international hotels at once - the Grand Hyatt, Radisson SAS hotels, located no more than 100 meters from each other, as well as the Days Inn hotel.

Preparing for a terrorist attack

On November 5, 2005, 35-year-old Sajida Mubarak Atrus al-Rishavi arrived in Jordan from Iraq with her husband Ali Hussein Al-Shamari from the Iraqi city of Ramadi. They were transported in a white car, in which, in addition to the driver, there was an accompanying person. In a residential area of ​​Amman, the terrorists, who had fake passports, rented a modest apartment. At the same time, two more suicide bombers arrived in Jordan - 23-year-old Rawad Jasem Mohammed Abed and Safa Mohammed Ali. (All four militants are natives of the Iraqi province of Anbar, near Baghdad, populated mainly by Sunnis.) The couple went to the Grand Hyatt and Days Inn hotels on Wednesday, November 9 at about 8:50 pm, where the explosions took place.

Chronology of the attack

Explosion at the Grand Hyatt

The first explosion occurred at 20.50 local time on the first floor of the five-star Grand Hyatt hotel. Shortly before the terrorist attack in the hotel ended the international congress on the issue of Palestinian refugees. It was carried out by 23-year-old Rawad Jasem Mohammed Abed, who arrived at the scene of the attack by taxi. Three Palestinian Authority leaders were among those killed in the attack: Bashir Nafa, head of military intelligence in Judea and Samaria, Abd Alon, head of the Palestinian Authority's interior ministry, and Jihad Fatuah, trade attaché in Egypt

Explosion at Radisson SAS

The largest number of victims, according to authorities, was at the nearby five-star Radisson SAS hotel, where the explosion occurred around 9 p.m. This hotel was especially popular among Israeli tourists. The night before, a wedding was celebrated there, about 300 guests gathered for the celebration. According to police, a terrorist with a bomb made his way into the center of the crowd of wedding guests and blew up the martyr's belt. The hotel lobby and the restaurant hall were destroyed. About 40 people became victims of the explosion here. This attack was carried out by Ali Hussein Al-Shamari. His wife miraculously survived: her martyr's belt did not explode, although she pulled the “correct cord”. Subsequently, she fell into the hands of the Jordanian special services.

Explosion at the Days Inn

Later it became known about the third explosion - in the six-story Days Inn hotel. The explosion took place in a hotel nightclub. This attack was carried out by Safa Mohammed Ali, who arrived at the scene of the attack in a rented car.

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Consequences

Immediately upon receiving information about the terrorist act, King Abdullah II of Jordan interrupted his official visit to Kazakhstan and returned to Amman.

In Jordan, a national day of mourning was declared, so all government and public institutions, as well as banks in Jordan, did not work on November 10. Several popular and public organizations decided to organize marches in Amman and other cities of Jordan to protest against the attacks.

As a result of operational actions, 35-year-old Sajida Mubarak Atrus al-Rishavi fell into the hands of the Jordanian special services, who miraculously survived: her martyr's belt did not explode, although she pulled the “necessary cord”. Subsequently, a Jordanian court sentenced her to death by hanging. On February 4, 2015, the sentence was carried out.

The attack was blamed on the Jordanian leader of the al-Qaeda group in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who later claimed responsibility for the attack. Previously, he was already suspected by the Jordanian authorities of a series of attacks on officials and government agencies in the country. In particular, al-Zarqawi was accused of killing American diplomat Lawrence Foley in 2002.

These were the first terrorist attacks in Jordan in more than 35 years. For the first time in the history of the kingdom, the explosions were carried out by suicide bombers.

A video of the release of tourists who have become appeared on the Web. The largest terrorist attack in the country over the past year occurred in a place of mass congestion of people - the castle of El-Karak. 10 people became victims of the terrorist attack.

They fired at once and from all sides. Caught in a fire trap, people vainly pressed against the walls, hiding in medieval stone niches. Armored vehicles, royal guards, special forces, combat helicopters, ambulance sirens. Over the course of a day, the provincial Al-Karak, in southwestern Jordan, turned into a war zone.

The first police patrol was lured into a trap by reporting a fire. The militants shot the car that had arrived on a false call point-blank. The first blood was shed.

“Shots were fired from the roof of the cafe,” said Jordanian Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki. “The police surrounded the building, but some of the criminals broke into Al-Karak. About ten terrorists entered the fortress. We still do not know which group they belong to.”

Taken by surprise and in the very first minutes, the police officers without helmets and bulletproof vests who entered the battle became an easy target for well-equipped and trained militants. Passers-by, residents of the historic center and a group of tourists were caught in the crossfire.

“I saw a lot of victims. All of them received severe bullet wounds in the legs and lower body,” says one of the tourists. “In front of my eyes, 8 people were taken to one hospital.”

The number of wounded increased sharply when local residents with personal weapons tried to help the police. Armed people in civilian clothes, unprepared for anything, firing into the white light like a pretty penny, only increased the confusion and increased the number of victims. A female tourist from Canada, who did not have time to find shelter, died on the spot from gunshot wounds.

Several groups of travelers from Malaysia, walking in the courtyard of the castle of the crusaders, turned out to be unwitting hostages at the moment when the terrorists barricaded themselves behind the powerful fortified walls. Some tourists tried to escape at their own risk. Most of them - 17 people - were injured, including severe ones.

Armored vehicles moved into the city. Positions in the center were occupied by special forces well prepared for such operations. At a time when the castle was stormed, releasing the hostages, reinforced gendarmerie squads were combing the old city, trying to find accomplices of the militants. A large amount of explosives and small arms were seized.

Residential areas adjacent to the castle have been evacuated. As a result of the operation, which ended with the liquidation of the attackers, the police reported 10 dead, seven of them security officials, and 43 wounded. It is assumed that one of the terrorists, born in 1988, was related to ISIS.

Calm and stable until yesterday, Jordan is strengthening anti-terrorist security measures. The authorities are particularly concerned about the situation in the south-west of the country, where the influence of radical Islamist groups has significantly increased in the Bedouin tribes.