Are Jakarta Bombings Tied to Al Qaeda?
Death toll rises, dozens injured after explosions at luxury hotels.
July 17, 2009— -- Coordinated bomb blasts ripped through two luxury hotels in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta today leaving at least nine dead and more than 50 wounded.
Indonesian security officials believe the attacks were carried out by suicide bombers and Jakarta's chief of police told reporters today that the suspected bombers were guests at one of the hotels.
"There were several perpetrators." Maj. Gen. Wahyono told reporters. "They were disguised as guests and stayed in room 1808."
According to Wahyono, the suspects stayed on the 18th floor of the Marriott hotel, where undetonated explosives were found.
The Ritz-Carlton and the Marriott, both frequented by foreigners, were hit within a few minutes of each other.
The death of one foreigner -- a New Zealand national -- has been confirmed, and as many as 13 others were among the wounded, including nationals from the United States, Australia, Canada, India, the Netherlands, Norway and South Korea.
"The State Department is working to help American citizens injured in the blast" according to a statement released earlier today.
This is the first major attack in Indonesia in four years.
A visibly upset Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono addressed his people in a televised speech and vowed to arrest and try the perpetrators.
"This action was carried out by a terrorist group, though it is too early to say if it is the same network," he said referring to the Islamic extremist group Jemayah Islamiya that has been held responsible for previous attacks in the country.
Senior U.S. officials, who dealt directly with issues of terror in Indonesia, also said the bombings bear the trademark of the al Qaeda-connected group Jemayah Islamiya, whose top bombmaker, Noordin Top, has been at large and feared to be preparing a new attack.
Former White House counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke, now an ABC News consultant, said the virtually simultaneous attacks and current intelligence point to the involvement of Top, which he described as "one of the most wanted men in Asia."
Top and Jemayah Islamiya are believed to be responsible for several deadly attacks, including the Bali disco bombing in October 2002, and a subsequent attack on the Marriott in Jakarta in 2003. Until those attacks, the government had been "in denial" about the homegrown group's ties to al Qaeda. But it eventually led to what U.S. officials regarded as a "very effective" law enforcement effort to "decapitate" the leadership.
Indonesian and U.S. authorities thought the group had been effectively put out of business, and the bombings Friday in Jakarta have stunned the intelligence community, an indication that putting such al Qaeda-connected groups out of business for good is not easily accomplished.
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