NYT: Rocket Fired at 2 U.S. Navy Ships at Port in Jordan

New York Times ^ | 8/19/05 | Edward Wong

[krazyrep]

AMMAN, Jordan, Aug. 19 - A rocket was fired early today at two American naval ships docked in southern Jordan, killing a Jordanian soldier and marking the first attack on American military ships in the region in five years, American and Jordanian officials said.

A rocket was fired at the same time from apparently the same area at an airport in a neighboring Israeli port, hitting a stretch of road and wounding a taxi driver, news agencies reported, citing Israeli officials and witnesses. A third projectile was fired at a Jordanian hospital around the southern port of Aqaba but did no damage.

No one claimed immediate responsibility for the simultaneous attacks, which displayed audacity in their use of military-style weapons and techniques. In October 2000, two suicide bombers detonated a launch loaded with explosives next to the American destroyer Cole as it was refueling in a port in Yemen. That attack, which killed 17 people and wounded 39 others, was attributed to Al Qaeda.

The attack today on the American vessels, the Ashland and the Kearsarge, took place around 8:44 a.m. and missed two naval ships at dock in Aqaba, said Capt. Ryan Fitzgerald of the United States Air Force, a spokesman for the American military command in the Middle East. The tocket flew over the ships and landed on a warehouse at the pier, he said.

[sneakers]

Dear God, please bless and protect our sailors.

[FreeAtlanta]

I know this is a long shot, but could the Jordanian soldier, that was killed, have been using a guidance device and the missile homed in on him?

[Hatteras]

"The tocket flew over the ships and landed on a warehouse at the pier, he said."

You have to be careful, tockets will do that, you know...

[monday]

" know this is a long shot, but could the Jordanian soldier, that was killed, have been using a guidance device and the missile homed in on him?"

The Katyusha missiles that were used are unguided. Even if they were guided, why would he wear a guidance device that would cause the missiles to miss the US ships?

[varon]

No one claimed immediate responsibility for the simultaneous attacks, which displayed audacity in their use of military-style weapons and techniques.

Displaying audacity without a doubt but falling short in marksmanship and technique. No wander no one is wanting to take credit ;-)

[freeperfromnj]

According to CNN, AQ is claiming responsibility

Al Qaeda Claim for Red Sea Attacks

Friday, August 19, 2005; Posted: 9:35 a.m. EDT (13:35 GMT)

(CNN) -- An al Qaeda-linked group has claimed responsibility for rocket attacks Friday that targeted but missed two U.S. military ships in the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba.

The three Katyusha rockets hit a warehouse and a hospital in Aqaba, killing a Jordanian soldier, and struck the nearby Israeli port city of Eilat.

A second Jordanian soldier was severely wounded. No U.S. military personnel were injured.

"Zionists are our rightful target," according to the statement signed by al Qaeda in Levant and Egypt, the Martyr Abdallah Azzam Brigades.....

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/08/19/jordan.blasts/index.html?section=cnn_world

[FreeAtlanta]

malfunction or operator failure? Ok, I said it was a long shot.