British Embassy in Jordan to reopen

The British Embassy in Jordan will reopen on Sunday after closing because of a threat of a terrorist attack, an embassy official said Tuesday. "The embassy, Britain's Foreign Office, and the Jordanian government reviewed the security information and decided this is the measure they will take," the official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Britain closed the embassy on Saturday and advised its nationals that "terrorists may be in the final stages of planning attacks against Westerners and places frequented by Westerners." Last Sunday, the Canadian and Australian embassies also closed in Amman, but the U.S. Embassy remained open.

Jordanian government spokesman Nasser Judeh said Jordan's security authorities had "analyzed the nature of the threats and did not believe they warranted closing any embassy."

On Monday, Jordan's Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah al-Khatib received a message from his British counterpart Jack Straw reaffirming "Britain's confidence in Jordan's security apparatus," according to Jordan's official Petra news agency.

A British embassy web site statement said "the embassy will remain closed during the Eid holiday (Muslim feast) but, on present plans, will reopen as normal on Sunday Jan. 15," without elaborating.

Even without the threat, the embassy would have been closed during the Eid holiday. The closure came two months after triple suicide bomb attacks on Western-based hotels in Amman killed 63 people, including the three bombers. Al Qaeda in Iraq, led by Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for the blasts, reports the AP. I.L.