Blasts at Jakarta Ritz, Marriott kill 9, wound 50
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AP – An SA security guard inspects the damage after an explosion went off at
the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Jakarta, …
By ANTHONY DEUTSCH, Associated Press Writer Anthony Deutsch, Associated Press
Writer – 28 mins ago
JAKARTA, Indonesia – Bombs minutes apart ripped through two luxury hotels in
Jakarta Friday, killing nine and wounding at least 50 more, ending a four-year
lull in terror attacks in the world's most populous Muslim nation. At least 14
foreigners were among the dead and wounded.
The blasts at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels, located side-by-side
in an upscale business district in the
capital, blew out windows and scattered debris and glass across the
street, kicking up a thick plume of smoke. Facades of both hotels were
reduced to twisted metal.
Alex Asmasubrata, who
was jogging nearby, said he walked into the Marriott before emergency
services arrived and "there were bodies on the ground, one of them had
no stomach," he said. "It was terrible."
The Marriott, which was attacked in 2003 in a bombing blamed on Southeast Asian
terror network Jemaah Islamiyah,
was hit first, followed by the blast at the Ritz two minutes later. The
attacks came just two weeks after presidential vote expected to
re-elect incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who has been credited with
stabilizing a nation previously wracked by militancy.
Local
media reported that two people were killed in another explosion in a
car north Jakarta later Friday. Officials confirmed a blast but said it
did not appear to be related.
Security Minister
Widodo Adi Sucipto told reporters at the scene the hotel blasts
happened at 7:45 a.m. and 7:47 a.m. (0045 GMT, 8:45 p.m. EDT) and that
"high explosives were used." He said at least nine people were killed
and 50 wounded.
Anti-terror forces were rushed
to the scene, and authorities blocked access to the hotels in a
district also home to foreign embassies.
"This destroys our conducive situation," Sucipto said, referring to the nearly
four years since a major terrorist attack in Indonesia — a triple suicide
bombing at restaurants at the resort island of Bali that killed 20 people.
The security minister said a New Zealander was among those killed, and that
thirteen other foreigners were among the wounded.
Earlier, South Jakarta police Col. Firman Bundi said that four foreigners were
killed, but gave no details.
Two
U.S. officials said one American is believed to have been injured but
that has not yet been confirmed. The officials spoke on condition of
anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation
publicly.
The attacks came ahead of a
high-profile trip by the Manchester United football team to Indonesia.
The team was scheduled to stay at the Ritz on Saturday and Sunday
nights for a friendly match against the Indonesian All Stars, the
Indonesian Football association said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but terrorism
analyst Rohan Gunaratna said the likely perpetrators were from the
al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah.
"The
only group with the intention and capability to mount attacks upon
Western targets in Jemaah Islamiyah. I have no doubt Jemaah Islamiyah
was responsible for this attack," he said.
There
has been a massive crackdown in recent years by anti-terror officials
in Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim nation of 235 million, but
Gunaratna said the group was "still a very capable terrorist
organization."
Police have detained most of the
key figures in the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah, and rounded up
hundreds of other sympathizers and lesser figures.
But
Gunaratna said that radical ideologues sympathetic to JI were still
able to preach extremism in Indonesia, helping provide an
infrastructure that could support terrorism.
Jakarta chief of police operations, Arief Wahyunadi, said the blasts were in
the Ritz-Carlton's
Airlangga restaurant and in the basement of the Marriott. He gave no
details on what kind of bombs were used and whether they were suicide attacks.
Government spokesman Dino Patti Djalal told CNN the scene of the blasts were
"eerie," when he arrived.
"The bodies I saw, some were being collected, some were on the floor,"
he said. "What we know, of course, is this was a coordinated attack."
When asked if Jemaah Islamiyah was behind the attack, Djalal
said: "We always knew there are terrorists out there. But we've had a
number of very good successes; no major attacks since the Bali
bombings."
He was referring to the October 2002 bombings of two Bali nightclubs that
killed some 202 people, many of them foreign tourists.
"This is a blow to us," Djalal said, but said the government would find those
behind the attacks.
"The president has built his reputation on ... anti-terrorism
policies," he said. "Make no mistake, he will hunt whoever is behind
this."
Because of past attacks, most major hotels in Jakarta take security
precautions, such as checking incoming vehicles and
requiring visitors to pass through metal detectors. Still,
international hotels make attractive targets, since the nature of their
business requires them to be relatively open and accessible.
On Friday, Australia and New Zealand updated their travel advisories, which had
already warned against unnecessary travel to Indonesia because of the risk of
terrorism.
"We advise you to reconsider your need to travel to Indonesia
due to the very high threat of terrorist attack," the Australian
Foreign Ministry said on its Web site. Those in Indonesia were warned
to exercise "extreme caution."
New Zealand urged its citizens in Indonesia to keep a low profile.
Britain also updated its travel warning, though it did not raise its alert
level.
___
Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini and Ali Kotarumalos in Jakarta, Tanalee
Smith in Adelaide, Australia, and Lara Jakes in Chicago contributed to this
report.
