LYON, France – An INTERPOL Incident Response Team (IRT) is en route to Amman, Jordan, to assist police with the investigation into simultaneous bomb blasts on 9 November which killed at least 57 people and injured hundreds.

INTERPOL offered its assistance because of the international nature of the attacks: the suicide bombers, who targeted three downtown hotels frequented by foreign businesspeople and diplomats, were Iraqi nationals, and Jordanians and foreigners were among the victims.

The IRT, made up of two specialised officers and a criminal analyst, is expected to facilitate the exchange of information between Jordanian and foreign police forces as well as accelerate checks of INTERPOL databases on suspected terrorists, fingerprints and DNA profiles, for example. It could also provide criminal analysis and technical support.

INTERPOL IRTs have been dispatched to the sites of numerous terrorist attacks and natural disasters in the last year, including to Southeast Asia after the devastating tsunami in December 2004 and, most recently, to Bangladesh and Bali, Indonesia, following terrorist attacks and to Pakistan after the deadly 8 October earthquake.