Bombers were 'driven by politics'

Prince Hassan said he was "deeply saddened" by the London bombings

The London bombers were almost certainly motivated by a desire to see British troops removed from Iraq, Prince Hassan of Jordan has said.

Suicide bombers carry out attacks to try to force political change and not simply because of religious fanaticism, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

His comments contrast with Prime Minister Tony Blair's assertion that "evil ideology" was behind the blasts.

Such violence was not in response to any particular policy, Mr Blair said.

Academic research

"The purpose of a suicide terrorist attack is not to die, it is to kill, to inflict the maximum number of casualties on the targets, in order to compel that target society to put pressure on its government to change policy," he said.

I was reassured by the response of the British public, by their courage, vision and their heart

Prince Hassan

He cited academic research by the University of Chicago's Professor Robert Pape which analysed all worldwide suicide attacks between 1980 and 2004.

That analysis suggested that the majority of suicide bombings were "not driven by religion" as much as by an attempt to put pressure on governments to withdraw troops from occupied territories, the prince said.

One motivation for the 7 July bombings was probably the lack of inclusion of Muslims in UK society, he added.

"The second is that, from Lebanon to Sri Lanka to Chechnya to Kashmir to the West Bank, in every major suicide terrorist campaign, over 95% of recorded incidents have had as their central objective to compel a democratic state to withdraw, that is to end occupation," he said.

The same notion was driving suicide bombings in Iraq, where he said a "civil war" had now started.

'Deeply saddened'

"I think Iraq is being divided into fragmentations, north, centre, south and numerous others, and Iran is watchfully standing by to take advantage of it," Prince Hassan said.

He was "deeply saddened" but "not surprised" by the London bombings.

"Terrorism is always wrong," he said.

"I was reassured by the response of the British public, by their courage, vision and their heart."