This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/4017
July 17, 2009
Death toll rises in Jakarta hotel bomb blasts
Stephen Fitzpatrick and Mark Dodd | July 17, 2009
Article from: The Australian http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25795540-601,00.htmlTHE death toll from today's terror attacks on Jakarta has risen to nine, including foreigners, with another 40 injured.
National police spokesman Nanan Soekarna said 14 foreigners were injured but a list of the wounded at a nearby hospital included the names of 18 foreigners."High explosive bombs" caused the two blasts at two luxury hotels in the Indonesian capital this morning, police and officials said.
"These were high explosive bombs," Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adi Sucipto told reporters at the scene of the blasts.
Of the nine dead, six people died at the Marriott and two at the Ritz-Carlton. The other victim died in hospital.
One Australian man was reportedly among the 48 people hurt in the explosions, which Indonesian police are treating as a terrorist attack.
Suspicions immediately centred on terror network Jemaah Islamiah, responsible for the attack on the Marriott hotel in 2003, when 12 people died.
The method of attack would represent a shift in strategy for JI.
Consular staff in Jakarta are urgently checking to see whether Australians are among the dead or injured.
The first explosion occurred inside the Ritz-Carlton just before 8am local time, followed by the Marriott blast minutes later. The hotels are located in the upscale Mega Kuningan business district in the centre of the city.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was re-elected to a second term in the mainly Muslim country last week, was "deeply concerned over this incident," a spokesman for his office said.
Ritz-Carlton vice-president of security Kevin Cruise said the explosion occurred inside the Airlangga Restaurant, blowing out the windows.
"I was in the restaurant immediately after the explosion," Mr Cruise told The Australian. "It looks terrible with a lot of cosmetic damage and I was really afraid about injuries but there appears to have been no serious ones."
However, Mr Cruise is still awaiting a final report, amid "incomplete and incorrect information".
Tom Warden, 25, a Kiwi working in Ritz-Carlton food and beverage, said the blast occurred as he prepared to have breakfast.
"There were people in the elevator saying `we have got to get the hell out of here'.
"The doors opened and the lobby was filled with smoke and everyone was evacuated."
Ritz-Carlton guests and staff have moved to an area in front of the hotel.
Police have sealed off the area near the Ritz-Carlton and the JW Marriott.
In a statement this morning, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was checking on whether any Australians were hurt in the explosions.
Major terrorist attacks in Indonesia (source: AFP):
October 1, 2005: Four explosions kill at least 32 people, including several foreigners, in tourist spots on the Indonesian island of Bali. More than 100 are injured.
August 25, 2005: Seven people are wounded when a bomb explodes at a market in Ambon in eastern Indonesia.
May 28, 2005: Two bomb blasts kill 19 people and injure more than 40 in the town of Tentena.
September 9, 2004: A car bomb outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta kills 10 people, plus a suicide bomber, and wounds more than 100.
August 5, 2003: A car bomb explodes outside Jakarta's Marriott Hotel, killing 12 people and wounding 149.
July 14, 2003: A bomb explodes at Indonesia's parliament building. No one is injured.
April 27, 2003: A bomb blast wounds 11 people in Indonesia's international airport.
December 5, 2002: Three people are killed in an explosion at a McDonald's restaurant in the eastern Indonesian city of Makassar.
October 12, 2002: Two explosions at Bali nightclubs kill 202 people including 88 Australians.
Its advice for those people with friends or family in Jakarta is to try and contact them directly before calling DFAT's 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre TEL 02-62613305 or 1300555135
- with agencies
This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/4017