Jordan’s Envoy to Turkey Slain; Jihad Claims It Is Responsible

Gunmen assassinated the acting Jordanian ambassador to Turkey on Wednesday as he stopped his car at a red light, and the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the killing.

Ziyad Sati, 40, was shot three times in the head as he stopped for a red light in a residential area while driving to work, police said.

Police sources said the unidentified guman escaped on foot after firing five shots, three of which hit Sati. He was alone at the time of the shooting.

Sati was posted to Ankara three years ago. He was serving as acting ambassador after Ambassador Walid Sadi left at the end of his tour two weeks ago. A new ambassador is expected to be named shortly.

‘Services to Imperialism’

An anonymous caller told a Western news agency that Sati was killed because of his “services to imperialism,” state-run Turkish radio said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Vahit Halefoglu pledged that the government will do “everything possible” to apprehend the killer, the radio said.

Halefoglu noted that 32 Turkish diplomats have been the victims of “international terrorism.”

Police sources said that security police rounded up a number of suspects for questioning in connection with the killing.

The assassination came a week after military authorities lifted martial law in the Turkish capital.

Jordanians Become Targets

Jordanian diplomats have become targets of various Palestinian factions opposed to Jordan’s tentative moves toward peace with Israel.

Islamic Jihad (Islamic Holy War), a group believed to have ties to Iran, has claimed responsibility for numerous guerrilla actions in the Middle East, including the suicide bomb attack on U.S. Marine headquarters in Lebanon that killed 241 American servicemen on Oct. 23, 1983.

It has also claimed responsibility for the kidnaping in Beirut of seven Americans and other Westerners during the past year.

On Tuesday, an anonymous caller said the organization was responsible for the bombings in Copenhagen of an American airline office and a synagogue and Jewish home for the elderly.