At least 57 people are dead and hundreds are wounded after bombs exploded at three western-owned hotels in Amman, Jordan.

 "The whole building shook, and so I knew that it was something fairly powerful," Canadian Jim Nixon told CTV Newsnet.

Nixon was staying at one of the bombed hotels, the Radisson, with a few other Canadian tourists. He says none of them were seriously hurt.

"I immediately went down to the lobby and saw the carnage," Nixon said. "When I got down there, there was bodies all over the floor."

Suicide bombers are being blamed for the attacks, which occurred late Wednesday.

Speaking with the Associated Press, a Jordanian police official said they believe al Qaeda was involved in the attacks. Unconfirmed reports say the bombs were hidden in suitcases.

In a statement, Jordan's King Abdullah blamed the attacks on a "deviant and misled group." "The attacks targeted and killed innocent Jordanian civilians," he said.

"Amman is a pro-western hub, if you like, in the Middle East," security expert Eric Margolis told CTV Newsnet.

"It was considered one of the safest cities. Jordan is really pretty much of an American protectorate, very pro-American under its king, and Amman is a nerve centre for some American intelligence operations as well."

The first blast occurred at about 8:50 p.m. at the luxury Grand Hyatt hotel, popular with tourists and diplomats. It completely shattered the hotel's stone entrance.

Associated Press reporter Jamal Halaby, who was at the hotel, counted seven bodies being taken away and many more wounded being carried out on stretchers.

A few minutes later, another explosion was reported at the nearby Radisson SAS hotel. Police said five people died there and at least 20 were wounded in the blast at a wedding hall.

A third explosion was reported at the Days Inn hotel. Police report casualties in that blast as well. But, detailed numbers are not available.

Dan McTeague, parliamentary secretary for Canadians abroad, said there are no initial reports of Canadian casualties. But, it is still early and Foreign Affairs is monitoring the situation.

Jordan is a close U.S. ally in the region. In the past scores of Islamic militants have been arrested for plotting attacks against western hotels.

Prime Minister Paul Martin has condemned the attacks. He says Canada is offering support to Jordan at this time.

U.S. President George W. Bush also condemned the bombings. "The president condemns in the strongest possible terms the vicious terrorist attacks against innocent civilians in Amman, Jordan," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in a statement.

The United States is also promising help with the investigation.

Sophisticated timing

"Certainly when we have seen attacks like this throughout the region, the sophistication of them, the coordination of them, suggests that there's been a lot of time and money lent to these operations in order to send a very strong message," CTV's Middle East Bureau Chief Janis Mackey Frayer told CTV Newsnet.

Daryl Sedgman, whose parents were guests at the Radisson, spoke to his father shortly after the blasts. They were visiting the region with a religious tour group.

"He said that the blast was 50 feet away, so I know they weren't very far away," Sedgman told CTV Newsnet. "He just quickly let me know that him and my mother were safe."

Another plot to bomb the Radisson SAS hotel was derailed in 1999. The attack was set to take place during millennium celebrations.

The Jordanians are providing interrogation and prison facilities for suspected Islamic militants captured by the CIA.

"So Jordanians have made themselves extremely unpopular with forces resisting the U.S. in Iraq," Margolis said.

"2005 has been a year where there has been quite high numbers of successful attacks in all corners of the world," former CSIS Intelligence Officer Michel Juneau-Katsuya told CTV Newsnet.

"We've seen it in Egypt, we just saw it now in Amman, we saw it in Bali, and we saw it Europe ... Unfortunately there's sort of a momentum that is playing in favour of al Qaeda. I think the militants are feeling quite strong and empowered with the success of those attacks."