US: US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell has pledged to beef up security around the Jordanian embassy in Iraq, after a truck bomb explosion that rocked the compound yesterday, killed 11 people.
Mr Powell gave the promise in a call to Jordan's Foreign Minister, Mr Marwan al-Muasher, to convey Washington's support for its close Middle Eastern ally after the attack. The motive for the attack was not immediately clear and no group claimed responsibility.
The blast occurred a week after Jordan gave asylum to two daughters of Saddam Hussein.
Jordanian officials said all the identified dead were Iraqi nationals. Five of its Jordanian embassy staff suffered minor and medium injuries, but they were in a stable condition. The senior US general in Iraq called it the work of "professional terrorists".
Some supporters of Saddam regard Jordan as an ally of Washington and felt betrayed by a lack of support from Amman during the US-led invasion. But other Iraqis are angry at Jordan for giving sanctuary to Saddam's daughters.
Earlier, Information Minister, Mr Nabil Sharif said the authorities were still unsure who was behind the explosion, the first major attack against a non-US target since the war.
"We have no idea at this point who stands behind this cowardly terrorist attack, but who ever stands behind it will be brought to justice," he said.
The vehicle that police said had carried the bomb was reduced to a charred wreck. Part of it was blown onto the roof of a neighbouring house. One of the outer walls of the compound had collapsed and several gutted cars smouldered on the street outside. A building inside the complex was slightly damaged.
Commenting that the attack would not deter Jordan in its support for Iraq, Mr Sharif said,
"This is a cowardly terrorist attack that we condemn in the strongest terms. It will not divert us from our path of support and aid to the Iraqi people or the process of stabilisation".