Three Aussies feared killed in Jakarta blasts

17 Jul 2009, 10:10 pm   -   Source: AAP, AFP
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The federal government is working to confirm the identities of three Australians believed to have been killed in the Jakarta hotel blasts.

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The federal government is working to confirm the identities of three Australians believed to have been killed in the Jakarta hotel blasts.

Perth businessman Nathan Verity, 38, and senior trade official Craig Senger are among three missing Australians after bombs went off at the Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels this morning.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he was "sick to the stomach" at the terrorist attacks, which he described as barbaric acts of murder.

The government wasn't confirming any deaths but Mr Rudd said he had "grave concerns" for three Australians.

"I have grave concerns for three Australians following the terrorist bombings in Jakarta earlier today," he told reporters tonight.

"One of these Australians is an Australian Embassy official.

"These figures may be the subject of further change."
   
More than 50 people were also injured in the bombings.

Former SAS soldier Jim Truscott confirmed the death of Mr Verity, his business partner.

He described Mr Verity as a devoted family man who had run a human resources and recruitment business out of Jakarta.

"He was certainly a man who cared for his family," Mr Truscott said.

Mr Verity lived in Perth with his wife Vanessa and five-year-old son, and had only travelled to Jakarta earlier this week.

Geoff Lazarus said his family feared the worst for Mr Senger, his nephew, after receiving news from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Mr Senger, an Austrade trade commissioner, was at the Marriott Hotel on business at the time of the blasts.

"On behalf of the family, I would like to say they are very upset," Mr Lazarus said.

Mr Rudd sent his thoughts and prayers to the many victims of the attack.

"This is a very, very difficult time for many Australian families tonight, and for many Indonesian families tonight, and our hearts and our thoughts and our prayers go out to each of them at this most trying of times," he said.

Perpetrators 'cowards and murderers'   

The explosions, which occurred within minutes of each other around 8am (local time, 1100 AEST), are the first major attack against western interests in Indonesia since the October 2005 Bali bombings and the first since Mr Rudd became prime minister.

Just hours after the bombings, a visibly-shaken Mr Rudd described the perpetrators as cowards and murderers.   

"Any terrorist attack anywhere is an attack on us all," he told reporters.

"Any terrorist attack on our friends in Indonesia is an attack on our neighbours.

"Any terrorist attack is an act of cowardice. It is an act of murder. It is a barbaric act that violates the fundamental principles of human decency."

New Zealand man Timothy David Mackay, who has been working in Indonesia since 2004, was also among those killed.

Hotel guests among suspects

Indonesian police say several suspects in the bombing of the JW Marriott were staying at the hotel.

Major General Wahyono said the suspects stayed on the 18th floor of the hotel where undetonated explosives were found after the earlier bombings.

A third explosion was reported near a shopping complex in the north of the Indonesian capital several hours later, but police later denied initial reports it was also a bomb, saying the blast
in the Muara Angke area was caused by a faulty car battery.

Following a meeting of the National Security Committee of Cabinet this afternoon, the Australian government set up an emergency taskforce to deal with the terrorist threat.
   
"An emergency taskforce has been located within the Department of Foreign Affairs in Canberra, as has been the practice in previous terrorist attacks involving Australians abroad," Mr Rudd said.

"This taskforce brings together all government agencies involved in counter-terrorism relevant to these attacks. That emergency taskforce is now at work."
   
Canberra immediately offered whatever assistance it could to the Indonesian government.

Federal police have been in touch with their Indonesian counterparts to offer assistance with forensics, victim identification and counter terrorism.
   
Health authorities are offering to help treat burn victims.

Travel advisory reviewed

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade reviewed its Indonesian travel advisory in the aftermath of the blasts, urging travellers to reconsider their plans.

The alert, however, has not been upgraded.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blasts but attention is focusing on Jemmaah Islamiah (JI).

Terrorism expert Professor Clive Williams, from the Australian National University, says JI seemed the most likely suspect, specifically a cell led by Noordhin Mohammed Top.

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull offered his sympathy to the victims of attacks, which he described as a "vicious assault" on the values of free societies.

"The recent re-election of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signified an explicit repudiation by the people of Indonesia of those who stand for religious intolerance and violent extremism," he said in a statement.

"Tragically, today's bombings indicate there are those who remain unwilling to accept the desire of the Indonesian people for a free, open and tolerant society."
   
News Limited was reporting that a senior Australian staff member at ANZ was among the injured in the Marriott bombing.

An ANZ spokeswoman told News Ltd that he had suffered cuts and other non-threatening injuries and was recovering in a Jakarta hospital.

Attacks 'cruel and inhumane'

Twin bombings that killed at least nine people at luxury hotels in the Indonesian capital were an "act of terrorism", Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says.

"I am convinced we can capture and punish according to the law the perpetrators of this act of terrorism," President Yudhoyono said at a press conference broadcast on local television.
  
He said the attackers "have no humanity and they don't care about the damage done to our country with this act of terrorism which will have wide effects on our economy, trade, tourism and image in the eyes of the world."

"I have instructed law enforcement to punish whoever is involved in this terror act, regardless of their political background," the president said.

Threat of terrorism remains very real: US

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the "senseless" bomb attacks, underlining that the threat of terrorism remains "very real."

The State Department was working "to help American citizens injured in the blasts" in the Indonesian capital, Clinton said in a statement issued from Prague as her plane stopped for refuelling en route to India.

"We condemn these senseless acts of violence and stand ready to provide assistance if the Indonesian government requests us to do so," she said.

"The attacks reflect the viciousness of violent extremists, and remind us that the threat of terrorism remains very real," Clinton said, offering her sympathies to the victims and the Indonesian people.

"We have no higher priority than confronting this threat along with other countries that share our commitment to a more peaceful and prosperous future."

Not the first time

A JW Marriott hotel was hit by a car bomber outside the lobby on August 5th 2003 that killed at least eight people and wounded 69. That attack was partly captured on CCTV. The bombing was claimed by Al-Qaeda via Jemaah Islamiyah.


 



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Map of hotel locations in Jakarta

 

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