Closer

Katyusha rockets are portable, highly inaccurate & unguided.

Katyusha rockets nearly hit their marks, the US amphibious assault ships USS Ashland and USS Kearsarge docked at Aman, Jordan. This was the most serious strike at the US Navy since the USS Cole was attacked nearly six years ago.

A militant group that claimed to be behind bombings at Sharm el-Sheik in July and at two other Egyptian resorts last October -- The Abdullah Azzam Brigades -- took responsibility via an Internet posting. It declared that its fighters fired the rockets. "A group of our holy warriors ... targeted a gathering of American military ships docking in Aqaba port."

This militant group is known to be linked to al Qaeda. A series of attacks over recent months indicates Islamic extremists are pursuing this new arena of combat. It is in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and the Gulf of Aqaba, the area that borders Israel, Egypt and Jordan and is the site of tourist resorts and Arab-Israeli peace talks. The group has also threatened to bring down King Abdullah II of Jordan.

Jordan's state-run Petra news agency reports that investigations indicate the rockets were fired from a two-story building. Attackers used a second story 3x3 foot window. Four men of Egyptian and Iraqi nationalities had rented the building just days before.

Authorities searched Aqaba and surroundings for up to six suspects, including Syrians, who were thought to have escaped in a vehicle with Kuwaiti license plates. Within two days police detained several Iraqis, Syrians, Egyptians and Jordanians. Within four days the Jordanian government announced that a Syrian linked to an Iraqi-based terrorist group was arrested as the prime suspect in the rocket attack.

Katyusha and shoulder held munitions are typical of weaponry readily available to those interested in destroying and killing. These munitions are easily transported and smuggled. They empower terrorists for easy implementation of simple plans on their schedules and at locations of their choosing. There is no hiding from these munitions and those who are determined to destroy and kill in any nation, city, or town from any warehouse, shack, taxi cab, or pickup truck.