Grenade found at Jakarta hotel

A rusty, unexploded grenade was found near the Hilton Hotel in Jakarta, police and hotel officials said, days after foreign governments warned that terrorists were planning attacks on Western targets ahead of Christmas.

Australia’s warning last week was unusually specific, saying it had “credible information” that terrorists could be targeting the Hilton Hotel chain in the country. The United States, Britain, New Zealand and Japan also issued warnings but did not mention specific targets.

A gardener found the grenade near a fence surrounding the sprawling, five-star complex in the Indonesian capital, said Emeraldo Parengkuan, Hilton’s public relations director.

“We called police and gave it to them,” he said. “I think it’s an effort to send a message to the whole country and show that the terrorists are still active in Jakarta or elsewhere in the country.”

No one was hurt.

National Police Chief Gen Da’I Bachtiar confirmed that a grenade had been found at the Hilton compound and said it had been activated. But he described it as “rusty” and said it appeared to have been there for “a long time".

Since Thursday, security has been tightened at Indonesia’s three Hilton hotels as well as shopping malls, churches and other hotels.

At the Jakarta Hilton, police armed with automatic weapons stood guard next to Christmas trees while employees have been instructed to report anything suspicious.

Parengkuan said the hotel had not seen a mass exodus of guests, but that some groups had cancelled functions because of the threat.

The al-Qaida linked Jemaah Islamiyah terror group has been blamed for a string of terror attacks in the past three years, including the October 2002 Bali bombings, last year’s blast at the J.W. Marriott hotel and the September 9 Australian Embassy attack that have left a total of 224 people dead.

Despite scores of arrests, local police and foreign governments have repeatedly warned more attacks are likely. Several countries warn their citizens not to travel to Indonesia at all.

Jakarta has complained about the advisories, calling them unfair and saying they drive away tourists.

Bachtiar said the warnings were not driven by facts. He made his comments after the grenade was found.

“These (warnings) have not been based a strong information,” Bachtiar said.

“We found no proof that this information is strong. But that does not mean we are lessening our alertness in maintaining security in the country,” he added.