Blast bloodies wedding reception

Jordanian groom Ashraf Mohammed al-Akhras and his new bride, Nadia al-Alami, both lost their fathers to a deadly blast that ripped through their wedding reception in an Amman luxury hotel.

The blast hit Radisson SAS while a wedding reception was on

Both bride and groom were also wounded in the explosion.

“I lost my father and my father-in-law and I saw many others dead. This is a horrible crime,” al-Akhras told state television from his hospital bed.

A bomber blew himself up at the Radisson SAS hotel’s ballroom as the wedding reception was in full swing.

Two other blasts followed in quick succession at the nearby Grand Hyatt hotel and the Days Inn.

Spy chief killed

The head of the Palestinian intelligence services, Bashir Nafeh, was among those killed in the blasts.

“Bashir Nafeh was killed in the attack on the Grand Hyatt hotel,” charge d’affaires Atallah Khairy said. 

The blast wounded film director Akkad (R) and killed his daughter 
The blast wounded film director Akkad (R) and killed his daughter 

The blast wounded film director
Akkad (R) and killed his daughter 

Syrian film director Mustafa Akkad was wounded and his daughter Rima killed in the same blast.

Akkad, 68, was in Jordan to attend a wedding ceremony in Aqaba on Friday and his 33-year-old daughter had just arrived from Beirut to meet him, sources said.
 
He was waiting in the lobby when the blast hit, killing his daughter at once.
  
Akkad was wounded in the neck and lost a great deal of blood but his life was not in danger, relatives said.
 
Akkad is best known for his 1977 epic The Message: The Story of Islam, starring Anthony Quinn and Irene Papas.

Source: AFP