U.S. Diplomat Shot Dead Outside Home in Jordan
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>>>Jordanian officials expressed shock and indignation at the assassination, the first killing of a Western diplomat in the security-conscious country traditionally seen by the West as a model of stability in a volatile neighborhood.
By Suleiman al-Khalidi
AMMAN, Jordan (Reuters) - A senior U.S. diplomat was gunned down with three bullets to the chest outside his Amman home on Monday in the first assassination of a Western diplomat in Jordan, officials said.
Reuters Photo
An unidentified assailant shot the official, named by diplomats as Lawrence Foley, a senior administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, at 7:30 a.m. as Foley was leaving for work, security officials said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the murder.
The killing of the 62-year-old official came at a time of rising anti-American sentiment in the region amid perceived U.S. bias toward Israel and Washington's threatened military campaign against Iraq.
A month ago the U.S. embassy in Jordan -- a strong regional U.S. ally -- warned U.S. citizens of a report that a member of the al Qaeda network had plans to kidnap Americans in Jordan earlier this year.
Since a landmark peace treaty with Israel in 1994, there have been various attempts in Jordan to kill Israeli diplomats, but with no reported deaths.
A Jordanian security source said Foley was shot at close range before the assailant and possible accomplices fled the scene in an affluent area of the capital Amman.
"One assailant or more was behind the criminal shooting and investigations are ongoing to reveal the culprits," the security official told Reuters.
Foley's wife immediately notified security officials who rushed to the scene and cordoned off the area.
A witness said Foley's body was lying near his car in the garage of his two-story villa after the shooting.
"The body of the old man was lying there, with blood near the driver's door of his Mercedes car that was parked in his indoor garage," he said.
In Washington, a State Department spokesman said its officials were not taking calls yet on the incident.
FIRST EVER KILLING OF WESTERN DIPLOMAT
Jordanian officials expressed shock and indignation at the assassination, the first killing of a Western diplomat in the security-conscious country traditionally seen by the West as a model of stability in a volatile neighborhood.
"This attack, regardless of its motives, is an attack on the country and its national security," Petra state news agency quoted Information Minister Mohammad Adwan as saying.
Later Adwan told reporters that progress was being made by investigators in the case but it was premature to speculate about who was behind the killing.
"It's an isolated incident ... it's very unfortunate that the American diplomat passed away. We are sure who ever has done it is targeting not only not the U.S. but targeting Jordan," Adwan added.
Jordan has been rewarded this year with extra U.S. military assistance in return for its backing for President Bush (news - web sites)'s "war on terrorism." The country also ranks as the fourth largest recipient of USAID funds in the world.
USAID is the chief U.S. agency providing disaster relief abroad, helping poor countries and promoting democratic reforms.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher visited the U.S. embassy to express condolences, and told Petra the authorities would act firmly and bring the culprits to justice soon.
The assassination was an affront to tough security measures in the kingdom, which have included arrests of scores of Iraqi nationals without residency status as part of contingency plans before a possible U.S. assault on Iraq, officials privately say.
Security was tightened further at the fortress-like U.S. embassy in the Abdoun district of the capital and at other Western embassies in the country, according to diplomats. |
