Nine killed in hotle bomb attacks

A pair of powerful bombs exploded at two luxury hotels in an upmarket Jakarta business district today, killing nine and wounding at least 50, Indonesian officials said.

The blasts at the neighbouring Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels blew out windows and scattered debris and glass across the street.

Indonesia media reported that two people had been killed in another explosion in north Jakarta.

There was no official confirmation.

The Indonesian security minister said nine people had been killed and 50 injured in the attacks.

South Jakarta police Colonel Firman Bundi earlier said that four of the dead were foreigners.

At the Metropolitan Medical Centre, a list was posted with the names of people wounded. An official at the registration office said 11 were foreigners.

Anti-terror forces were at the scenes of both blasts, but did not yet want to speculate about the possibility of an attack by militants.

“There were bodies on the ground, one of them had no stomach,” said a man who lives near the hotels and who arrived at the Marriott before emergency services. “It was terrible.”

Alex Asmasubrata, who was jogging by the hotels, said he first heard a loud explosion at the Marriott. Five minutes later, a bomb followed at the Ritz.

The blasts were caused by “high explosives”, security minister Widodo Adi Sucipto told reporters at the scene, without elaborating. He said they exploded two minutes apart.

He said a New Zealander was among those killed, and that 13 other foreigners were among the injured.

The police operational chief Arief Wahyunadi said the bombs were planted in the Ritz-Carlton’s Air Langga restaurant and the basement of the Marriott, which was attacked in 2003.

Twelve people died in that assault, which was blamed on Southeast Asian terror network Jemaah Islamiyah.

There has been a massive crackdown by anti-terror officials since then, and it has been more than three years since a major terrorist attack in Indonesia.

The Manchester United football team was scheduled to stay at the Ritz tomorrow and Sunday nights for a friendly match against the Indonesian All Stars.