3 Dead In Australian Embassy Blast

[MorphRC]

[font="Times"][b]3 dead in Australian embassy blast[/b][/font]
[b]From AAP, AFP and AP correspondents in Jakarta
09sep04[/b]

A POWERFUL explosion outside Australia's embassy in central Jakarta left at least three people dead and many wounded today, officials and witnesses said.

It also caused extensive damage to nearby buildings.

The immediate cause of the explosion, which punched out windows in a nearby office building and damaged the embassy's outer perimeter, was not known.

An AFP reporter at the scene saw two lifeless bodies being taken away by police and another person being wheeled out on a stretcher attached to an intravenous drip.

The blast about 10:30 am (1330 AEST) prompted the immediate evacuation of the embassy and caused a sharp drop on the Jakarta stock market.

ElShinta radio station quoted a witness saying a police truck and a taxi in front of the embassy had been blown apart and the high steel fence surrounding the building in the Kuningan business and residential district was damaged.

The al-Qaeda-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.

Phones at the Australian embassy were not being answered.

A Department of Foreign Affairs 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 the blast happened nearby.

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.

An AFP reporter at the scene said two lifeless bodies were seen outside the embassy.

At least four people had been injured in the blast and a person's leg was lying severed on Rasuna Said Street, an AP reporter at the scene said.

Four cars and the high metal fence surrounding the embassy were damaged, and windows of surrounding buildings smashed.

There are a dozen other embassies in the street, including those of North Korea, Singapore, India and Denmark.

Radio reports quoted witnesses as saying some victims were being treated by ambulance crews.

Witnesses told Elshinta radio that one truck and one taxi were destroyed. Other witness reports said windows were shattered.

Smoke was seen rising near Rasuna Said Street, which is home to several foreign embassies and businesses, shortly after 10.15am (1315 AEST).

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.

[MorphRC]

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[StColette]

[DemonSlayer]

This is the first time I've heard of this...

[MorphRC]

It only happened at 2:30pm AEST i think.

[Tony]

prayers..

[gonzaga]

at least seven confirmed dead, Our thoughts and prayers. These events are becoming a regular occurance.

[justfran]

Prayers.

[MorphRC]

You should see it, its blown the area out. almost no windows left, something like 11 people killed, but no aussies.

[url="http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/09/1094530752760.html?from=top5&oneclick=true"]http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/...5&oneclick=true[/url]

[url="http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/9/9/latest/18839Bombblast&sec=latest"]http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=...last&sec=latest[/url] << Pic

[CreepyCrawler]

I have a friend from Indonesia and she just emailed me with the news. She lives 8 km from the embassy. Australia is responding by forcing all the Indonesian citizens in Australia to go back to Indonesia, which smells of elderberries for all the Indonesian students studying in Australia.

[cappie]

We were warned: US told officials of likely terrorist attack
By Cynthia Banham and Deborah Snow
September 10, 2004

The bombing of the Australian embassy was not without warning. The US put out a rare warning last Friday saying it had intelligence that terrorists might attack "identifiably American or other Western facilities or businesses in Indonesia".

It advised Americans officials in Indonesia to avoid "identifiably Western hotels".

The warning also prompted Australia to change its travel advisories the same day, with the Department of Foreign Affairs warning Australian officials in Jakarta to avoid Western hotels and to "take note of this advice".

The ABC reported yesterday that a function that was due to be held in a Jakarta hotel at the weekend had been moved to the Australian embassy.

The warning also brought a reaction from those with links to the intelligence community. The former head of intelligence for the Sydney Olympics, Neil Fergus, who is now head of the security advisory company Intelligent Risks, said he warned his clients in a memo on September 6 to "maintain stringent security to protect personnel and assets in Indonesia from JI attack".

The US warning followed reports from Indonesian authorities that JI was replenishing its recruits from secret training camps in the jungles of Mindanao, in the Philippines. More than 300 JI activists have been arrested in the region since the Bali bombings.

The Prime Minister, John Howard, and the Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, said yesterday they had been given no intelligence an attack was planned against the Australian embassy in Jakarta.

"I have not received any advice and we did not have any specific warning or specific advice that would suggest that this attack was going to occur in the vicinity of our embassy," Mr Howard said.

Mr Downer added: "We didn't have any information of a specific attack on the Australian embassy at this time, though there have been, over a long period of time, concerns that this could happen."

Senior Indonesian and Australian police had been bracing themselves for a JI attack in Indonesia before the end of the year, though no precise warnings were expected.

Indonesian authorities seized more than 800 kilograms of explosives from a JI base last year but police were convinced that JI had an unknown amount of explosives still at its disposal.

Mr Howard said $1.25 million had been spent upgrading security at the Australian embassy in Jakarta in the last year, and that it was one of the most secure embassies Australia had anywhere in the world.

The upgrade included a stronger perimeter to make it impossible for vehicles to gain access without permission, as well stronger glazing.

A number of Australian embassies have been moved because of the terrorist threat, including the Manila embassy, though not the one in Jakarta.

However, the threat to the Australian mainland remains unchanged.

A spokesman for the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, said the National Threat Assessments Centre in Canberra reviewed domestic security threat levels immediately after the embassy blast, and that there would be no change "because there was no specific threat to the Australian mainland".

[cappie]

Girl critical after bombing
From correspondents in Jakarta
10sep04

A FIVE-year-old Australian girl was critically injured and her Indonesian mother killed in the bomb blast outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta.

The girl is now in a Jakarta hospital and her father is on his way from Australia to Indonesia.

The girl and her mother were near the gates of the embassy when the bomb went off yesterday morning.

The girl and her mother were going to the embassy to pick up the passport so the girl could join her father in Australia

[Guest havok]

prayers go out to their families.


I'm almost more concerned for my american freind going to school in Aussie right now than i am about myself here in the states...

[cappie]

[b]Vatican newspaper condemns Australian Embassy bombing [/b]


The Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano has condemned "the brutal blackmail of terrorism" in a front-page response to yesterday's bombing of the Australian embassy in Indonesia.

L'Osservatore Romano observed that in the Jakarta bombing, which left at least 9 people dead and nearly 200 injured, terrorists had once again "used the brutal instruments that are their hallmark: sowing death and destruction in cities, indiscriminately attacking people in the daily lives, to eliminate security and spread panic."

The paper observed that the world is on the eve of the anniversary of the shocking terrorist attacks of September 11, 2002. It also recalled the October 2002 attack on a casino in Bali, which left 200 people dead.

Other Rome-based Church news services, including MISNA and AsiaNews, were also quick to respond to the attack.

[MorphRC]

I wonder if that little girl died

[cappie]

NSW policeman's daughter critically hurt
September 10, 2004 - 12:49PM


The father of an Australian girl critically wounded in the Jakarta embassy bombing was today flying to Singapore to be at her bedside as she is treated for her injuries.

Five-year-old Elisabeth Manuela Bambina Musu - affectionately known as Manny - is being evacuated to Singapore after being seriously hurt in the blast which killed her mother as they stood together yesterday outside the embassy in the Indonesian capital.

She had been about to pick up her Australian passport after becoming a citizen on September 1.

The girl's father, Sydney police officer Dave Norman, was today flying to Singapore with his mother and said his priority was to be with his daughter.

Elisabeth today regained consciousness in a Jakarta hospital but relatives said she still did not know the bomb had killed her mother, 27-year-old Maria Eva Kumalawati, one of nine to die in the explosion.

Constable Norman today thanked the public for the messages of condolence over the death of his partner.

The Australian Federal Police has organised flights and accommodation for him in Singapore and the NSW Police Association has provided him with expense money.


A spokeswoman said he was taking his mother with him for support.

``I appreciate the thoughts and well-wishes from members of the public across NSW and Australia during this extremely traumatic time,'' Const Norman said in a statement.

``My focus is on getting on a plane as quickly as possible so I can be at the bedside of my daughter, Manny, to ensure she gets all the love and care she needs.

``On behalf of Maria's family in Indonesia, I also want to thank people for their thoughts in the hours following her death.

``I ask that members of the public and media please respect my privacy and give my family the space we need to grieve for my partner, Maria.''

Maria and Elisabeth were together outside the embassy when the blast struck, wrecking the perimeter fence of the mission and causing carnage in the street outside. About 180 people were injured.

Elisabeth's injuries were so bad it was initially thought she was dead, but once it was realised she was still alive, she was given emergency treatment on the scene.

Her uncle today said she had injuries to her stomach but had regained consciousness overnight.

``She's all right now. She can open her eyes and can communicate,'' said Budi Anto, speaking at the central Jakarta hospital where she was taken yesterday.

``But she hasn't found out about her mother yet.''

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the girl was being medically evacuated to Singapore today for further treatment.

Police Association president Bob Pritchard said Const Norman was receiving all the help needed.

``We've made arrangements to get him to Singapore - the AFP has lined that up for us,'' he said.

``We're obviously supplying him with some assistance while he's over there.''

[MorphRC]

[url="http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,10720557%255E910,00.html"]http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/commo...255E910,00.html[/url]

MASSIVE car bomb attack on the Australian embassy in the centre of Jakarta has brought the war against terror to Australian soil.

Just two days before the third anniversary of September 11 and almost two weeks into the election campaign, terrorists have sent a deadly message to the Australian people – we are again a target for terrorism.

The bomb, which exploded at 10.15am in Jakarta, flattened the Australian embassy's front gate, mangled cars and motorbikes on the street, left a 3m-deep, 30m-wide crater in the road and shattered hundreds of windows in high-rise buildings overlooking it.

At least 11 Indonesians died, including a young girl, and 168 were injured by the blast. All of the embassy staff were accounted for, with only minor injuries reported.

The victims of the terrorists were innocent Indonesian Muslims.

Survivors and passers-by witnessed grisly scenes as security officers covered the bodies of victims ripped apart by the blast with newspapers while others picked up dismembered body parts strewn randomly across the road.

Fortunately it was mid-morning on Jalan Rasuna Said in the upmarket diplomatic district of Kuningan, so the street outside the compound was not as packed as at other times of the day.

It is believed four police officers, an embassy guard and embassy gardeners and civilians are among the dead. The open nature of the area also meant the blast was not concentrated but it was powerful enough to shatter every window in a high-rise building 300m away and shake some several kilometres away.

The blast produced a plume of smoke at least 400m high and was heard 15km away. It destroyed at least 10 cars, two motorcycles and two Metromini minibuses.

Despite the efforts of dozens of Australian and Indonesian police and spies, plus millions of dollars worth of high-tech spying equipment, the terrorists slipped through the net.

It is virtually impossible for vehicles to enter the embassy compound. The embassy, one of the best-protected missions anywhere in the world, has had significant security upgrades in the past year.

The bomb exploded about 4m from the fortified steel gates of the high-security compound – the biggest Australian embassy in the world – and left the perimeter fence a twisted ruin.

Prime Minister John Howard said tight security at the embassy had saved Australian lives. He also expressed his "utter dismay" at the attack.

"This is not a nation that is going to be intimidated by acts of terrorism," Mr Howard said. "I do want to assure the Australian community that our vigilance against any potential terrorist threats remain absolute and everything will be done to ensure that such incidents do not occur in our country."

Opposition Leader Mark Latham paused from campaigning in Cairns to declare the terrorists as "evil and barbaric" and must be hunted down.

"The terrorists responsible for this attack are evil and barbaric and must be dealt with as harshly as possible," Mr Latham said.

The Australian Federal Police had been worried about a possible attack by Jemaah Islamiyah during the Australian election period.

Such was the concern about a terrorist attack, Australian diplomats shifted their annual charity ball from the JW Marriott Hotel – the same one that was bombed last year – to the high-security embassy with just a day's notice last week. It is too early to speculate about whether or not this attack was timed to coincide with Australia's upcoming election.

It also is possible that the bomb was aimed at the next round of Indonesia's presidential elections later this month.

Al-Qaida undertook a strategic and highly successful attack in Madrid during Spain's election campaign in March this year, which played a major role in changing the Spanish government.

The prime suspect for the Jakarta bomb blast is Jemaah Islamiyah, the same group of al-Qaida-linked militants implicated in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings and an attack last year on the nearby JW Marriott Hotel in which 12 people died. Yesterday's explosion was much bigger than the Marriott attack.

JI's bombmaker Dr Azahari Husin – who spent time studying at university in Adelaide – has been on the run since the Bali bombings and is number one on the wanted list for this attack.

Malaysian authorities believe the timing of the attack may be linked to Indonesia's decision this month to file terror charges against JI's reputed leader, militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.

The government is drafting charges against Bashir on suspicion of ordering the Marriott attack.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who flew to Jakarta last night, said there was "no question" the attack was aimed at the Australian Embassy and it was "clearly a terrorist attack".

Terrorism expert Clive Williams said if the attack was a suicide bomber then it would almost certainly be the work of JI. Al-Qaida leaders have ordered their followers to attack Australians in Indonesia.

"We are now regarded as a reasonable target," Mr Williams said.

[MorphRC]

I hope we get those Cruise Missiles!

[MorphRC]

[quote]The Lame, Annoying and Worthless Time Wasting Board[/quote]

How kind. I wonder what the victims and families would think of someone believing this about such a murderous act..

[Apotheoun]

I pray for all those who were killed and injured, and for their families. Hearing of these terrible attacks reminds me of that horrible day when thousands of innocent people died in the collapse of the World Trade Center.