Twin blasts rock Jakarta

Analysts suspect the blasts are the handiwork of the Jemaah Islamiyah who were earlier blamed for attacks at Marriott and in Bali resort island

Hardnews Bureau

Twin bomb blasts ripped through two luxury hotels in Jakarta's business district on Friday morning killing 9 and wounding more than 50 people.

Eyewitnesses told the media that a loud explosion was first heard at the JW Marriott hotel. Around five minutes later, another bomb exploded at the Ritz Carlton hotel. Later, an unexploded bomb was also found at the Marriott, news agencies reported quoting the police.

Indonesia's security minister, Widodo Adi Sucipto, told mediapersons at the site that the blasts were caused by high power explosives.

News agencies quoted police as saying that the bombs were planted in the a restaurant at the Ritz and another in the basement of the Marriott.

Earlier, in 2003, Marriott was attacked when a car bomb exploded outside the hotel killing 12 people. Southeast Asian terror network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) was blamed for the attack. They were also allegedly involved in the bombings at night clubs Bali in 2002 that killed 202 people. Again in 2005, there were a series of suicide bomb attacks in Bali 20 people were killed and 129 injured. Three suicide bombers killed themselves in the attacks.

Since then, there has been a massive crackdown on JI and other Southeast Asian terrorist groups by the anti-terror police in Indonesia. Last three years, has been free of any terrorist attack in Indonesia. With assistance from Australia and the US, Indonesia had stepped up security and surveillance. The presidential elections on July 8 were held peacefully.

But after today's explosions analysts already suspect the JI. They feel only the JI has the motive to carry out a coordinated attack on targets like upscale hotels, bars and night clubs frequented by citizens of Western countries. If it is indeed the JI, then it would mean that the outfit still retained its capability to carry out coordinated terror attacks in spite of losing many of their trained operatives.