AMMAN/BAGHDAD, March 20: A row between Iraq and Jordan over reports that a Jordanian man carried out the deadliest suicide bombing in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein worsened on Sunday as both countries recalled their envoys. Jordan said its top diplomat in Iraq had been called back to Amman for consultations over safety after thousands of angry Iraqis took to the streets to demand the embassy close.

Later, an Iraqi foreign ministry official in Baghdad said the Iraqi ambassador in Amman was being recalled. “Relations have worsened and we need to consult with the ambassador,” he said.

Iraqis have joined several anti-Jordanian protests over the past week, angered by reports that a Jordanian man carried out a suicide bombing that killed 125 people south of Baghdad last month and that his family had hailed him as a martyr. Jordan and the man’s family have denied he was behind the single bloodiest attack in Iraq. Iraqi protesters have burned Jordanian flags and broken into the heavily-guarded embassy at least twice since the suicide bombing in Hilla on Feb 28. They held banners reading “no to terrorism” and called on Arabs to speak out against praise of suicide bombers.

“The embassy is not closed, we called our diplomat for consultations, if he says it is safe, then he will go back,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani al Mulki said.

“If the Iraqi police cannot protect our embassy from protesters, then we will wait until they can. We will not endanger our staff.”

The Jordanian embassy has been the target of at least two suicide bombings since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

In a statement, Mr Fayez offered condolences to the families of Iraqis killed in “terrorist acts”, condemning “those who take religion as a pretext for committing crimes that have nothing to do with Islam”.—Reuters