AMMAN, 14 November 2005 — An Iraqi woman, who was to have been one of the hotel suicide bombers on Wednesday, confessed her crime on Jordanian TV yesterday. Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher announced her arrest at a news conference.

“The woman, Sajida Atrous Al-Rishawi, 35, is wife of one of the bombers, Ali Hussein Ali Al-Shemmari, 35,” Muasher said.

She is also the sister of Mubarak Atrous Al-Rishawi, an aide to Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi and head of Al-Qaeda’s Al-Anbar area” in Western Iraq, the minister said.

Muasher identified the other two male suicide bombers as Rawad Jassem Mohammad Abed and Safaa Mohammad Ali, both 23.

“Sajida and her husband Ali made the wedding party at the Radisson SAS hotel as their target. When Sajida failed to detonate her explosive belt at the appointed time, her husband pushed her outside the hall while he set off his bomb successfully,” Muasher said.

Confessing on Jordanian TV, the woman said: “My name is Sajida Mabruk Atrous Rishawi, born in 1970 in Ramadi. I entered Jordan on Nov. 5 with falsified Iraq passports in which the name of my husband was Ali Hussein Ali and mine was Sajida Abdel Kader Latif.

“We went into the hotel. He (my husband) took a corner and I took another. There was a wedding in the hotel. There were women and children. My husband executed the attack. I tried to detonate and it failed.

“I saw the people run and flee the hotel and ran out just like them.”

Muasher said each of the four terrorists carried an explosive belt that included between 4 and 5 kilograms of explosives and metal balls. This made it clear that they wanted to kill and maim as many people as possible, he said.

The four terrorists belonged to the Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which is led by Jordanian fugitive Zarqawi, who has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Jordanian investigations have also proved Zarqawi’s hand in the bombings, Muasher said.

He said the four bombers entered Jordan on Nov. 5 through the Karameh border post and rented a furnished flat at a western Amman neighborhood before they carried out their attacks targeting three five-star hotels — Radisson SAS, Grand Hyatt Amman and Days Inn.

At least 57 people were killed and 95 wounded in the bombings. Forty of the injured are still in hospital, five of them with serious wounds.

Muasher cleared Syria of any responsibility for the attacks. Iraqi officials had earlier claimed Syrian involvement. “Apparently Syria has nothing to do with the bombers,” Muasher said.

The minister said the Jordanian authorities were still holding 12 suspects who “have links with Zarqawi, but investigations proved they do not have any direct connection with this operation.”

Musher said the Iraqi bombers did not establish any contacts with Jordanians since their arrival for fear of raising suspicion.