BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — A Web statement Friday in the name of al-Qaida in Iraq claimed the deadly hotel bombings in Amman, Jordan, were carried out by four Iraqis, including a husband and wife “who chose to accompany her husband to his martyrdom.”

“All of these are Iraqis from the land between the two rivers,” the statement said, alluding to Iraq’s ancient name, Mesopotamia. “They vowed to die and they chose the shortest route to receive the blessings of God.”

The statement could not be authenticated, but it appeared on a site which has included past al-Qaida statements and was signed in the name of the group’s spokesman, Abu Maysara al-Iraqi.

It also included a threat to Israel, Jordan’s western neighbor. The statement noted that Jordan, which it described as Israel’s “buffer zone,” was now “within range” and “it will not be long before raids by the mujahedeen come” to the Jewish state itself.

At least 60 people were killed Wednesday in the blasts at three hotels in the Jordanian capital. On Friday, Jordanian police said they had rounded up 120 people, mainly Iraqis and Jordanians, in a nationwide hunt for those behind the bombings.

Al-Qaida in Iraq, led by Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, had claimed responsibility for the bombings. The latest statement said the attackers wore explosive belts “in order to achieve greater accuracy in hitting the target.”

The statement said the plot was carried out in response to “the conspiracy against the Sunnis whose blood and honor were shed by the Crusaders and the Shiites” and with the connivance of the Arab League, which is trying to arrange an Iraqi reconciliation conference.