MALAYSIAN EXTREMIST WANTED FOR JAKARTA BOMBING
A Malaysian extremist wanted for a string of terror attacks was named Saturday as the likely culprit behind suicide bombings at luxury hotels in Indonesia that left eight dead and 55 injured.
- Police were studying explosives found in the suspects' "control centre" in room 1808 of the Marriott hotel, which was bombed along with its nearby sister hotel the Ritz-Carlton on Friday during the busy breakfast period.
- DNA evidence, including a severed head from the remains of two suicide bombers, was also being examined as security was tightened across Indonesia and the Philippines amid warnings of follow-up attacks.
- Five foreigners,three Australians, a New Zealander and a Singaporean,were identified among the dead as Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda put the total toll at eight, including the bombers.
- Meanwhile, the Singapore embassy in Jakarta told AFP it had not verified the death of the Singaporean man because the Indonesian health ministry was not able to give the complete name of the victim.
- Of the 55 injured, police said that 18 were foreigners including citizens of Australia, Britain, Canada, China, India, Italy, Norway, South Korea, the Netherlands and the United States.
- The attacks triggered the cancellation of a planned Manchester United friendly against an Indonesian All-Star team scheduled for Monday, a decision which caused bitter disappointment among football fans here.
JAKARTA HOTELS BLASTED BY 2 SUICIDE BOMBERS
Two suicide bombers were behind bomb attacks in Jakarta hotels on Friday morning, the national police chief told reporters.
Source: The Malaysian Insider, The Star Online
- Two bomb blasts, one at the JW Marriott, the other at the Ritz-Carlton in Jakarta's main business district killed 8 people and injured more than 60, including foreigners and Indonesians.
- A car bomb had also exploded along a toll road in North Jakarta, police said. Indonesia’s Metro TV said two people had been killed. No further details on that blast were available.
- Windows were shattered at both hotels, which are close to each other in the Kuningan business area which is popular with foreigners and Indonesians, with many bars, offices and embassies.
- Hundreds of police, some soldiers and ambulances were at the scene of the hotel attacks. A Reuters witness said about 100 foreign and Indonesian hotel guests and office workers were gathered outside, some still wearing bathrobes.
- The windows in the first floor of the Ritz-Carlton were blown out, indicating the blast may have been in the restaurant, which would have been busy at that time of the morning
- The bomb attacks, the first in several years, could badly dent investor confidence in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. The Indonesian government has made considerable progress in tackling security threats from militant Islamic groups in recent years, bringing a sense of greater political stability to the country.
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