THE head of al-Qaeda in Iraq said in an internet audiotape that the Muslim wedding parties the group bombed last week in Amman were not its target.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi said the target was a meeting of intelligence agencies, but a roof collapsed on the wedding parties. Suicide bombers killed 59 people in three Amman hotels, provoking outrage in Jordan, despite the high level of support Jordanian-born alZarqawi previously enjoyed in his homeland. Most of the victims were Muslim Jordanians.

In a message posted on an Islamist website often used by insurgent groups in Iraq, alZarqawi struck a rare defensive tone, insisting that al-Qaeda had checked the hotels and found they were “nests” of US, Israeli and Jordanian spies.

“We ask God to have mercy on the Muslims, whom we did not intend to target, even if they were in hotels which are centres of immorality,” the voice on the tape said. It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the tape, but US officials said that the voice sounded like al-Zarqawi.

“The idea that they blew up inside wedding ceremonies is a lie by the Jordanian regime . . . the target was a meeting of intelligence agencies, but a roof collapsed on a wedding party from the blast,” he said.

There have been angry demonstrations across Jordan, with tens of thousands rallying in Amman yesterday to voice their disgust at al-Zarqawi. A poll published this week showed that two thirds of Jordanians had changed their views of al-Qaeda for the worse.

Commenting on the statement by al-Zarqawi, a US counter-terrorism offical said: “What we’re seeing is him going to great lengths to try to justify the selection of targets, in part because of the criticisms in the Muslim world.”

Despite the setback, al-Zarqawi vowed to mount further attacks in Jordan, threatening to “chop off” the head of King Abdullah, its ruler. He warned Jordanians to stay away from luxury hotels, such as those bombed last week, and the diplomatic missions of countries that invaded Iraq in 2003.

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