Posted on 09/08/2004 10:09:07 PM PDT by naturalman1975
THE Australian embassy in Jakarta was damaged by a powerful explosion that blew up vehicles in front of the complex. At least three people were killed
However no Australian embassy staff had been confirmed injured, the federal government said.
Four cars and the embassy's high metal fence were damaged, witnesses reported. The windows on several surrounding buildings were smashed.
ElShinta radio station quoted a witness saying a police truck and a taxi in front of the Australian embassy had been blown apart and the high steel fence surrounding the building was damaged.
A reporter on the scene said there was a hole in the embassy gate and he saw some people with what looked like minor injuries leaving the complex.
Other nearby buildings had been badly damaged in the blast, which could be heard kilometres away, said witnesses.
One witness said a man was seen being carried on a stretcher into an ambulance.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said it was not clear if the Australian embassy was the target of the blast.
She said officials in Canberra had been in contact with staff at the embassy, who said there had been a blast in the vicinity of the embassy.
Windows at the embassy were shattered by the explosion and staff had been evacuated.
"There are shattered windows, including at the Australian Embassy, and cars have been damaged, but there are no confirmed injuries," the spokeswoman said.
The blast occurred about 1.30pm Australian time, she said.
Witnesses reported white smoke into the air after the blast.
A spokesman at national police headquarters in Jakarta said bomb squad officers were on their way to the embassy.
Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation, has been hit by sporadic bomb attacks in recent years, including blasts in Bali in October 2002 that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, and at a luxury Jakarta hotel in August 2003 that killed 12.
In recent weeks several Western embassies, including those of the United States and Australia, have warned their citizens about possible attacks by militants.
Last year, 12 people died in a suicide attack on the JW Marriott hotel in the same district.
The al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah group has been blamed for several high profile bomb attacks in Indonesia including the August 2003 attack on Jakarta's Marriott Hotel and the October 2002 bombings on the resort island of Bali.
AAP
PM states number of casualties is now believed at least 6 - Foreign Minister going to Jakarta, Shadow Foreign Minister invited to accompany him, as Australia is in caretaker government mode.
Australia will never back down.
The Jakarta Post reports death toll at 8
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20040909124147&irec=0
Yes but they must purchase bomb reducing window covering.
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