'Suicide bombers' carried out Indonesia attacks

17 Jul 2009, 10:13 pm   -   Source: AFP
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Two suicide bombers carried out the twin attacks on luxury hotels in central Jakarta which killed at least nine people and injured more than 40 others, police said.

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Two suicide bombers carried out the twin attacks on luxury hotels in central Jakarta which killed at least nine people and injured more than 40 others, police said.

"Based on the evidence at the scene we found that there were two suicide bombers," national police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri told reporters.
  
He said witnesses had seen the suicide bombers who targeted the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels around 8:00am (0100 GMT), and police would examine body parts including DNA from a severed head to try to identify them.
  
Both bombs had been made in room 1808 of the Marriott, described by officials as the "control centre" of the operation.
  
"The bombs which exploded at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton were similar and were transported from JW Marriott room number 1808. There was one unexploded bomb left (in the room) which was dismantled," Danuri said.
  
It was too early in the investigation to speculate about who was behind the attacks, he said, although counter-terrorism police and analysts said suspicion inevitably fell on regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah.

Indonesia bombers 'spreaders of death': Yudhoyono

The bombings were "terrorist" acts by "spreaders of death", Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.
  
"The country must not allow people who have committed crimes and murders to get away. They have become Draculas and spreaders of death," Yudhoyono said at a press conference broadcast on local television.
  
"I am convinced we can capture and punish according to the law the perpetrators of this act of terrorism," he said.
  
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."
  
Indonesia has been attempting to trade on years of relative stability to woo foreign investment in its crumbling infrastructure and encourage tourists to visits its famous beaches, temples and volcanos.
  
The country was hit by a series of bombings including 2002 and 2005 attacks on Bali island that killed more than 200 people, but had before Friday enjoyed more than three years without a major attack.
  
The president, who was re-elected for a second term in a landslide last week, said he had heard theories that the attack was linked to the election but it was too early to say who was responsible.
  
"This morning I heard from several parties who have an unsettling theory that this terror act is related to the presidential election," he said.
  
"My response is that we should not point fingers and suspicions. All theories and speculation should be proven."
  
Yudhoyono said he had received videos and photos from intelligence agencies showing a "terrorist group" had used photos of himself for target practice around the time of the election.
  
Holding up a photo of his portrait pierced by what appeared to be a bullet hole, an emotional Yudhoyono said: "There are video recordings and pictures. This is not slander, this is not a rumour."
  
"I have instructed law enforcement to punish whoever is involved in this terror act, regardless of their political background," the president said.

Analysts have said the attacks bear the hallmarks of a splinter group of the radical Jemaah Islamiyah network headed by Malaysian Noordin Mohammed Top, the alleged mastermind of the 2002 Bali attacks.
 

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