Suicide blasts at Jakarta Ritz, J.W. Marriott kill 9

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Suicide bombers who checked in as guests smuggled explosives into American luxury hotels in Indonesia's capital and set off a pair of heavy blasts that killed nine people and wounded more than 50, investigators said Friday.

The near-simultaneous bombings ended a four-year lull in terror attacks in the world's most populous Muslim nation. At least 18 foreigners were among the dead and wounded. The blasts at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels, located side-by-side in an upscale business district in Jakarta, blew out windows and scattered debris and glass across the street, kicking up a thick plume of smoke. Facades of both hotels were reduced to twisted metal. An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw bodies being shuttled away in police trucks.

Alex Asmasubrata, who was jogging nearby, said he walked into the Marriott before emergency services arrived and

“there were bodies on the ground, one of them had no stomach,” he said. “It was terrible.” Two Australians and a New Zealander were believed to have been killed, but there was confusion about the exact number of victims.

“I have grave concerns for three Australians following the terrorist bombings in Jakarta earlier today,” Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters late Friday. “One of these Australians is an Australian Embassy official. These figures may be the subject of further change.”

An Australian think tank, the Strategic Policy Institute, predicted the Southeast Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah might launch new attacks just a day before Friday's deadly strike.

A paper released Thursday said tensions in the group's leadership and the release of former members from prison “raise the possibility that splinter factions might now seek to re-energize the movement through violent attacks.”

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the attack was carried out by a “terrorist group” and vowed to arrest the perpetrators. He also suggested a possible link to the national election last week that is expected to hand him another five-year term as president, but he provided no details. Suspicion will fall on the Southeast Asian Islamist militant group Jemaah Islamiyah or its allies. The network is blamed for past attacks in Indonesia, including a 2003 bombing at the Marriott when 12 people died.

“Those who carried out this attack and those who planned it will be arrested and tried according to the law,” a somber-looking Yudhoyono told a news conference.

The Manchester United football team canceled a planned visit to Indonesia. The team had been scheduled to stay at the Ritz on Saturday and Sunday nights for a friendly match against the Indonesian All Stars, the Indonesian Football Association said.