One of the few known facts about Zarqawi is that he is Jordanian, and therefore familiar with both the terrain and the internal situation. The stable situation in Jordan was in stark contrast to the tumult in neighboring Iraq during the war and now, in the throes of the aftermath.

Amman was thus the safe haven for diplomats, journalists and businessmen seeking respite from the terror-driven chaos of Baghdad, for which Zarqawi shares dubious credit with various Sunni insurgents and Saddam Hussein loyalists.

The United Nations has run its Iraq operation out of Zarqawi's reach in Amman ever since the bomb attack in the Iraqi capital in August 2003 that killed 23 people. Other international organizations have also used Amman as their headquarters. Unlike Syria, Jordan's efficient security apparatus has on the whole done a good job of limiting infiltration of foreign Islamist fighters either from Iraq into Jordan or the reverse, across the border into Iraq.

A statement on an Islamist Web site in which al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the attacks said the three hotels -- the Radisson, the Grand Hyatt, and the Days Inn -- were targeted because King Abdullah, the Jordanian ruler had turned them into "a backyard for the enemies of the faith, the Jews and crusaders."

But Zarqawi's attack misfired. Most of the victims who died when one bomber blew himself up in the middle of a wedding party at the Radisson were neither Jewish nor Westerners but native Jordanians and Palestinians residing in Jordan.

In an instant of terror and carnage, Jordanians who had previously been largely sympathetic toward the homegrown terrorist leader who was raising hell in Iraq turned against him. Thousands have taken to the streets to chant their protests against Zarqawi. "Burn in hell Abu Musab Zarqawi," the protesters chant as they gather near one of the damaged hotels. Even so, he still has his apologists, who blame the United States and Israel for creating the situation in the Middle East in which terrorism can flourish.

Middle East sources in London said Monday it was clear from the scope and boldness of the attack that Zarqawi was serving notice that he plans to extend his reach beyond his Iraqi area of operations. In his own way, he was following the instructions of Ayman al-Zawahiri, but he seems to have jumped the gun.

For while it's true that in his now famous letter to Zarqawi, Osama bin Laden's second-in-command had instructed the struggle should be extended to Iraq's secular neighbors, he also specified that expansion should begin once an Islamic regime has been established in Iraq.

Zarqawi had even managed to recruit the first ever husband-and-wife suicide bomber team for the Radisson Hotel blast, Ali Hussein Ali and his spouse Sajeda Mubarak Atrous. But that coup de theatre failed when Sajeda's belt of explosives apparently failed to detonate, and she is now in the hands of Jordanian security forces.

Abdullah now faces the formidable challenge of rooting out any other al-Qaida members in his kingdom, the sources say. But catching the bombmakers and any other al-Qaida footsoldiers is only half the battle, the sources say. He must also address the political, social and economic problems that breed the discontent on which terrorist recruiters feed.

The high unemployment in Jordan, particularly among its huge younger population, is one challenge to Abdullah's government. Another is Jordan's implicit support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Abullah has resisted Washington pressure to deploy troops in Iraq: That would only draw the Heshemite Kingdom more deeply into the Iraqi morass. But the Jordanians have been helping to train and equip Iraqi troops and police.

Another long-standing resentment between Jordan and some other Arab countries has been Amman's peace agreement with Israel. Jordan is one of two Arab countries that has diplomatic relations with Israel. The other is Egypt.

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