Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

An explosion at the Marriott hotel in central Jakarta has left at least 6 people injured.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN ^ | CNN

Posted on 08/04/2003 11:43:07 PM PDT by Mo1

Edited on 04/29/2004 2:02:54 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- An explosion at the Marriott hotel in central Jakarta has left at least 6 people injured.

The blast occurred just before 1 p.m. (0600 GMT) on Tuesday, shattering scores of plate-glass windows at the front of the hotel.


(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News
KEYWORDS: bali; bashir; explosion; fareast; indonesia; ji; killed; marriotbombing; marriott; marriottbombing; terrortrials
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-62 next last

1 posted on 08/04/2003 11:43:07 PM PDT by Mo1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Mo1
CNN is stating that the lobby has been destroyed and many cars are on fire.


The blast shattered scores of plate-glass windows at the front of the hotel

2 posted on 08/05/2003 12:03:16 AM PDT by Mo1 (Please help Free Republic and Donate Now !!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mo1
R-O-P-A
3 posted on 08/05/2003 12:04:20 AM PDT by SkyPilot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SkyPilot
???? .. it's late .. what does that mean?

CNN is also saying that they don't know of it was a bomb ..

4 posted on 08/05/2003 12:07:00 AM PDT by Mo1 (Please help Free Republic and Donate Now !!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Aaron0617
Fox News now saying 3 dead. Some trial verdict is supposed to be announced this week. Is that the Bali bombing trial?
5 posted on 08/05/2003 12:12:38 AM PDT by Aaron0617
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Aaron0617
Hmmm .. since CNN doesn't know if it was a bomb .. I wonder what they think caused this?


6 posted on 08/05/2003 12:24:43 AM PDT by Mo1 (Please help Free Republic and Donate Now !!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Mo1
Is this the work of the same religion that GWB calls the Religion of Peace ?
7 posted on 08/05/2003 12:28:32 AM PDT by MatthewViti
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Mo1
Here is a picture of the hotel...
8 posted on 08/05/2003 12:37:15 AM PDT by utvolsfan13
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: utvolsfan13
Indonesian Police say it was a bomb outside the hotel.
9 posted on 08/05/2003 12:57:35 AM PDT by yonif ("If I Forget Thee, O Jerusalem, Let My Right Hand Wither" - Psalms 137:5)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Mo1
The hotel, which opened in September, 2001

wow ...
10 posted on 08/05/2003 12:59:47 AM PDT by Bobby777
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: yonif
probably those darn Amish again ... then again, maybe not ...
11 posted on 08/05/2003 1:00:49 AM PDT by Bobby777
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Mo1
Religion of Peace Alert
12 posted on 08/05/2003 1:22:10 AM PDT by SkyPilot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Mo1
Fourth most populous nation, 90% Muslim, lotta oil. Bears watching...
13 posted on 08/05/2003 1:34:18 AM PDT by 185JHP ( Penumbras. Emanations. Fatuities.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mo1
Indonesian police believe car bomb caused massive blast at Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, killing at least 10 people
14 posted on 08/05/2003 2:59:53 AM PDT by yonif ("If I Forget Thee, O Jerusalem, Let My Right Hand Wither" - Psalms 137:5)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mo1
Here is an update I found:

http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=9E4D3588-54CE-40BA-AC5F60644744D2D0

Bomb Blast Rips Through Jakarta Hotel, At least 8 Dead
VOA News
05 Aug 2003, 08:57 UTC
Email this article to a friend. Printer Friendly Version

A huge bomb blast has torn through the luxury Marriott Hotel in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, leaving at least eight people dead and scores of others injured.

The blast ripped apart a ground floor restaurant, gutted the lobby, and damaged buildings on either side of the hotel in the Auningang district, south of the city center.

Witnesses report seeing several badly burned bodies on the street and at least four cars on fire in front of the hotel. The casualty count could rise as details become known.

Police say at least one foreigner is among the dead. The hotel is popular among foreigners and is located in an the business district of Jakarta, near many embassies.

Local television showed huge clouds of black smoke billowing from the hotel and firefighters battling flames that rose several stories high. Authorities and witnesses say it is not clear whether the explosive device was carried by a suicide bomber or placed in a car.

The blast comes just two days before a court is due to hand down the first verdict in the trials of Islamic militants accused of carrying out the bombings of two nightclubs on the Indonesian resort island of Bali last year. Those attacks killed 202 people.

Today's explosion also comes as the trial of Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, a regional terrorist network, is due to resume in Jakarta. Mr. Bashir is charged with several church bombings across Indonesia and plotting to overthrow the government.

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.


15 posted on 08/05/2003 3:18:39 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP (Bu-bye Dixie Chimps! / Coming Soon !: Freeper site on Comcast. Found the URL. Gotta fix it now.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SkyPilot

16 posted on 08/05/2003 3:20:41 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP (Bu-bye Dixie Chimps! / Coming Soon !: Freeper site on Comcast. Found the URL. Gotta fix it now.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: SkyPilot
The blast comes just two days before a court is due to hand down the first verdict in the trials of Islamic militants accused of carrying out the bombings of two nightclubs on the Indonesian resort island of Bali last year. Those attacks killed 202 people.

Today's explosion also comes as the trial of Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, a regional terrorist network, is due to resume in Jakarta. Mr. Bashir is charged with several church bombings across Indonesia and plotting to overthrow the government.


17 posted on 08/05/2003 3:23:03 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP (Bu-bye Dixie Chimps! / Coming Soon !: Freeper site on Comcast. Found the URL. Gotta fix it now.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Mo1
Another feather in the cap for the religion of peace.

18 posted on 08/05/2003 3:25:11 AM PDT by Brytani (Politics: n. from Greek; "poli"-many; "tics"-ugly, bloodsucking parasites.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MeeknMing

Abu Bakar Bashir

19 posted on 08/05/2003 3:26:31 AM PDT by csvset
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Mo1
Terrorist Bomb Kills 10 in Jakarta Hotel
Terrorist Bomb Kills 10 in Jakarta Hotel, Injures 103, Authorities Say

The Associated Press


JAKARTA, Indonesia Aug. 5

A powerful bomb exploded outside the Marriott hotel in downtown Jakarta on Tuesday, killing 10 people and wounding 103 in what an official said was likely a suicide attack. At least one foreigner was reportedly among the dead.

Shattered glass and puddles of blood covered the ground for two blocks around the hotel, located in the business district near many embassies and a popular place for foreigners to stay.

"People were screaming, panicking," said Sodik, a man who goes by one name who was having lunch on the 27th floor of an adjacent building. "I thought it was an earthquake."

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. But since last year's bombings in Bali, which killed 202 people, authorities have warned that more attacks were likely in Indonesia possibly by Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asian terror group linked to al-Qaida.

On Thursday, a court in Bali was scheduled to deliver its verdict in the trial of Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, who is accused of planning and carrying out the Oct. 12 attacks in Bali. He is the first of about three dozen suspects to have been tried in the case.

Gen. Da'i Bachtiar put the death toll in Tuesday's blast at 10, including one unidentified foreigner, in addition to 100 injured. Officials at several hospitals said they had admitted a total of 103 people with various injuries.

Bachtiar said officials suspected the explosives were placed in an Indonesian-made four-wheel-drive vehicle, adding that its chassis was being examined.

He said that body parts were found near the vehicle, saying police were investigating whether they were those of bystanders or the suspected bomber.

Defense Minister Matori Abdul Djalil declined to specify who was behind the explosion, but said it was the work of "terrorists."

Black smoke billowed from the front of the Marriott, also the site of many diplomatic receptions held by the U.S. Embassy. During the past two years, U.S. officials have held 4th of July celebrations at the hotel, part of the Bethesda, Md.-based chain.

The blast was sure to hurt Indonesia's efforts to persuade tourists and foreign investors to come back to the country following the Bali blasts. Australia, which lost 88 people in the Bali blasts, warned its citizens Tuesday to avoid central Jakarta.

The Jakarta stock exchange closed 3.1 percent lower following news of the blast.

Jakarta governor Sutiyoso, who like many Indonesians uses a single name, said Tuesday bombing was "very likely" carried out by a suicide attacker.

An Associated Press photographer on the scene minutes after the blast saw three badly burned bodies lying in the wreckage of a car outside the badly damaged hotel and an adjacent office building called Plaza Mutiara.

Mellanie Solagratia, a spokeswoman for the hotel, said most of the damage appeared to have occurred in the basement and on the second floor. She said the 330-room hotel was 77 percent occupied as of Monday.

Witness Jaganathan Nadeson said he looked out of his window on the 22nd floor after the blast and saw a vehicle engulfed in flames in front of the hotel apparently the car bomb, he said.

"I heard a big bang and I tried to get out of the building as quickly as possible," said Asroni, a hotel employee, as he picked bits of glass from his uniform. "The smoke was getting into my lungs."

The hotel's lobby plate glass windows were shattered, as were some upper-floor windows. The lobby was badly damaged, with chairs and tables strewn about. Several cars smoldered outside.

Inside a ground-floor restaurant of an adjacent building, half-eaten pasta dishes sat on tables covered in broken plates and glass.

Ceiling and wall panels were scattered in the street outside the lobby of the hotel, exposing the bare concrete pillars. The building appeared to be structurally intact.

The adjacent Rajawali building houses the embassies of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. None of the staff were injured, officials said.

"In the Swedish Embassy there was shattered glass, and one of the inner ceilings caved in," vice consul Viveca Lofberg said.

Another office worker named Iin said most of the casualties appeared to be security guards who were stationed in front of the Marriott.

"I thought a plane must have hit the building," he said.

Jakarta has seen a number of bombings in recent years as Indonesia grapples with a myriad of security problems and political turmoil.

The explosion came four days after President Megawati Sukarnoputri vowed to destroy the terrorist networks responsible for a series of bombings across the world's largest Muslim nation, saying the "domestic branch of the international terrorism movement is a terrifying threat."



20 posted on 08/05/2003 3:30:18 AM PDT by kattracks
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-62 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson