Britain to reopen Jordanian embassy after threat

The British embassy in Jordan will reopen on Sunday, more than a week after closing due to an undisclosed security threat, the embassy said yesterday.

"The embassy will remain closed during the Eid holiday (Muslim feast) but, on present plans, will reopen as normal on Sunday, January 15," an embassy statement said, without elaborating.

Britain closed the embassy on Saturday because of fears of attacks on Westerners and said there was sufficient reason to keep it closed until further notice.

Even without the threat, the embassy would have ordinarily been closed during the several days of the Eid holiday.

Jordanian officials said on Saturday that security authorities who assessed the threat received by the embassy had concluded the closure was not necessary.

The closure came two months after triple suicide bomb attacks on luxury hotels in Amman killed more than 50 people. Al Qaeda in Iraq, led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility.

Last August, militants linked to Mr Zarqawi were accused by Jordan of being behind a failed rocket attack on US warships in the Red Sea port of Aqaba.