The “Abdullah al-Azzam Brigades of the al Qaeda Organization” is claiming responsibility for the multiple rocket attack on a U.S. Navy ship in Jordan.

Athena at Terrorism Unveiled has thorough coverage and photos, and shares some insights about the claimed attackers and their M.O.:

This is the same group who claimed responsibility for the deadly Sharm el-Sheikh bombings in Egypt that killed 64 people on July 23rd of this year. This is also the same group that carried out the Taba, Egypt bombings at the Hilton hotel that killed 34 people in October of last year. Taba is only a few miles from Aqaba down the Red Sea corridor, and I remember the increased seucirty measures implemented by the Jordanians when I visited the Dead Sea area resorts right after that incident.

So the MO is quite different in these attacks. They used rockets rather than car/truck bombs and they also attacked a military target rather than tourists, which have been successful in the past. This was not a suicide bombing attempt, either. This leads me to question the veracity of the claim.

However, the Abdullah Azzam Brigade is thought to be a faction within the larger Tawhid group, which includes many in al-Qaida, specifically the Jordanian, Zarqawi, and the old members (if not captured and dead) of his group while in Jordan called Beit al-Imam. It is unclear the links between this network and if it is a concrete group or a new front name. It would be interesting to look into connections between this group and Jund al-Sham (Sham meaning the Greater Syria/Levant region), although many appear to be Egyptian.

The terrorists fired two Russian-manufactured Katyusha rockets. Someone I work with explained that these are very large, old rockets, and if fired properly need a large launcher. From a few searches, it turns out they were used extensively in the Lebanese Civil War, and also by the Syrian military. With the arms deals of the Russians to the Syrians after the creation of Israel, and their availability in Lebanon/Syria region and use by Hizballah et al, I would guess that these weapons came from Syria. That leads me to wonder how they transported these materials without discovery. The police force in Jordan, as well as the Jordanian Intelligence Agency is quite good…

Milblogger Murdoc is also tracking the story–and moonbat reaction to it.

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