A US military spokesman revealed on Monday that one of the suspects in Wednesday's attack on three of Amman's luxury hotels was a detainee who was released last year by the US after determining that he was not a security threat. The attack, for which Al Qaeda claimed responsibility, killed 57 people and injured at least 100.
The suspect, Safah Mohammed Ali, was reportedly taken into US custody after having been badly injured during clashes with American troops in the Western Iraqi town of Fallujah. He was later released by US military authorities.
"A review of the circumstances of his capture by the unit determined there was no compelling evidence that he was a threat to the security of Iraq and he was therefore released," a US military spokesman said.
According to coworkers at the Fallujah factory where Ali was later employed, he disappeared after his release from US custody.
A spiritual leader in Fallujah revealed that Ali's anti-US stance was hardened after he was held in the same mosque in which a US soldier had shot and killed an unarmed Iraqi.
Four suspects were determined to have been responsible for the attack in Amman last week, three of whom were Iraqi citizens who died in the blasts, including Ali, along with one woman whose explosive devise failed to detonate.
© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
