Twin terrorist bombs in Jakarta kill 8; Update: Video added
posted at 8:46 am on July 17, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
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After several years of relative quiet in Indonesia, the Islamist terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah has apparently struck again. In a fresh attack on Indonesia’s tourist industry, two bombs exploded at hotels known for their high security, killing eight people, including at least one American. Authorities defused a third bomb before detonation, but suspect the other two were suicide attacks:
Bomb blasts ripped through luxury hotels in the heart of Indonesia’s capital on Friday, killing eight people and wounding dozens in attacks the president said badly hurt confidence in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.
The attackers targeted the JW Marriott hotel, scene of a car bomb in 2003, and the Ritz-Carlton, both popular with visiting international businessmen and thought to boast some of the tightest security in Jakarta. …
Police originally said nine people had been killed in the blasts, but later reduced the number to eight. They also said a blast on a toll road in the north of the capital originally attributed to a car bomb was actually a vehicle short circuit.
How the bombers may have bypassed some of the toughest security in Indonesia remains unclear, but police said a third device had been found and defused in a laptop bag on the 18th floor of the Marriott, prompting speculation they could have gained entry by checking in as paying guests.
Indonesia’s TVOne showed closed-circuit television footage of a man they said was the Ritz-Carlton’s suspected suicide bomber. He was wearing a baseball cap and pulling a wheelie-bag through the lobby.
Jemaah Islamiyah conducted the 2002 attack in Bali which killed over 200 people, mainly tourists. In 2005 they conducted a repeat attack on Bali, killing 20 people and wounding 129. The US lists JI as an al-Qaeda affiliate, and one of their most effective.
Indonesia thought they had stamped out JI. Following the 2005 attack, the government arrested a number of people linked to JI. The group’s military leader, Riduan Isamuddin (known better by his nom de guerre Hambali), currently lives at Guantanamo Bay, one of the intractable problems with which Barack Obama will have to deal when closing down the prison next year. However, Indonesia took a lot of criticism for their relatively soft treatment of JI terrorists during their trials, and that criticism will likely return along with JI.
Update: Reuters has video of the blast at one of the hotels (h/t HA reader Carolyn M):
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There is also a report that United Manchester, a rugby team that was booked in the hotel may have been targeted. They have canceled their tour.
rob verdi on July 17, 2009 at 8:50 AM
I bet we could negotiate with these guys and come to reasonable agreement.
BadgerHawk on July 17, 2009 at 8:52 AM
This plays into the larger problem lefties have with understanding our problem
They think in very strict terms, of just fighting AQ. They don’t get that they are a sort of umbrella for other satellite groups like JI, Abu Sayyaf, GSPC
blatantblue on July 17, 2009 at 8:53 AM
But of course. Didn’t Obama spend some of his childhood with his mother and stepfather in Indonesia? That’s all we need. His college vacation in Pokeestan made him an expert on Indian-Pakistani relations, and surely his elementary school years in Indonesia make him a Southeast Asia expert.
/s
Wethal on July 17, 2009 at 8:55 AM
Just a bit of editing for ya!
SouthernGent on July 17, 2009 at 8:55 AM
This would never have happened if they had heard the Cairo speech.
patriette on July 17, 2009 at 8:56 AM
what does Janet call the WOT now? Overseas contingencies??? they are utterly clueless
cmsinaz on July 17, 2009 at 8:56 AM
*1920’s Bronx Italian voice*
“Whateva yoo say baws! I’ll do whatevaz you say!! just pleeeze pleeeeeze dont cut my head owff!!!”
blatantblue on July 17, 2009 at 8:58 AM
Yes, he’s certainly an expert, but don’t expect him to criticize or “meddle.” That’s only for democratic gov’ts of christians and jews.
JiangxiDad on July 17, 2009 at 8:59 AM
Yon’s post last week is very timely, unfortunately.
blatantblue on July 17, 2009 at 9:00 AM
What gives? I thought terrorist acts had to do with everyone hating George Bush’s America.
I guess Jemaah Islamiyah didn’t get the hope and change memo.
CarolynM on July 17, 2009 at 9:01 AM
I thought the bombings were supposed to stop once we elected Dear Leader.
Or is JI just upset that their leader isn’t living the good life in Bermuda now?
rbj on July 17, 2009 at 9:02 AM
Doesn’t the one have a special kinship with Indonesia that made up a vast majrity of his FP experience? I am guessing he is really hurt right now that they didn’t listen to his words. I am guessing in a few days The One will have something to say about this…
James on July 17, 2009 at 9:04 AM
These were two MAN CAUSED DISASTER events HotAir.
Get the terminology right. You lose all credibility when you say terrorist bombs.
James on July 17, 2009 at 9:06 AM
are there any muslim groups in Jamaica? Never heard of any, but I’m about to go. Last thing I want to worry aboutis something like this going off in a tourist district.
jp on July 17, 2009 at 9:06 AM
Ed,
This wasn’t a group of Islamic terrorists. Silly goose. They were Methodists. Damn Methodists. Right wing Christian groups are just as dangerous as any overseas contingency operators.
Yeah, that’s it.
Back to normal topic: Some guy I knew from high school is in Jakarta area right now. His Mom said that he and his wife left shortly before the overseas contingency act was performed. Still completely sad story though.
mjk on July 17, 2009 at 9:06 AM
We must continue to work to gain control or either the house or senate in 2010. We need checks and balances at the federal level before our national security falls to a level where we don’t have the ablity to protect ourselves from this type of incident..
kanda on July 17, 2009 at 9:07 AM
Lets use Ron Paul logic:
….They attack Indonesia because __________?
jp on July 17, 2009 at 9:07 AM
Only if the poll number demand that he say something. And it won’t pick one side or the other. Because that’s how The ONE rolllsssss.
mjk on July 17, 2009 at 9:07 AM
huh. these “manmade disasters” are stupid. have they ever fought a rugby team before? they’ll get slaughtered.
kelley in virginia on July 17, 2009 at 9:07 AM
and isn’t Manchester United a soccer team, not rugby?
kelley in virginia on July 17, 2009 at 9:08 AM
did you all read about the convention of the radicals islamist going to Chicago?. How disturbing is that they can continue to operate in our country.
hawkman on July 17, 2009 at 9:09 AM
Ed, your headline is wrong. That should be “twin MMEDs” – as in man-made explosive devices.
ProfessorMiao on July 17, 2009 at 9:12 AM
Don’t dare send CIA teams to assassinate them!
And, be sure to Mirandize them before we buy them ice cream cones in Bermuda!
Oh, the humanity!
profitsbeard on July 17, 2009 at 9:13 AM
Hmmm, have we checked in with those Uigher bomb makers we recently dropped off in Palau?
journeyintothewhirlwind on July 17, 2009 at 9:13 AM
Obama’s grade school buddies no doubt.
katy on July 17, 2009 at 9:14 AM
Has Obama commented on this yet?? What’s wrong with him? He had a tin ear re Iran, a tin ear re Honduras, and now a tin ear re Indonesia. Wasn’t at least one American killed there?
JiangxiDad on July 17, 2009 at 9:15 AM
I question the timing.
OldEnglish on July 17, 2009 at 9:18 AM
Not recently ;) however Michelle Obama gave her comment during the election. In her interview with Couric (kaf*hak) she said the proper solution to terrorism is for America to build foreign schools to teach children to read. If you do so then they won’t want to fight us.
Limerick on July 17, 2009 at 9:18 AM
You’re not alone.
thomasaur on July 17, 2009 at 9:19 AM
You act as if there are muslim terrorist.
Johan Klaus on July 17, 2009 at 9:20 AM
tks. Glad to know it’s our fault again. Will continue to work on self-improvement, reflection, soul-searching, and most importantly, funding and building self-esteem of those abroad.
JiangxiDad on July 17, 2009 at 9:21 AM
The Indonesians are very proud to have Obama as president. I had more than a few pull me aside and mention it to me during my business/vacation there.
rickyricardo on July 17, 2009 at 9:23 AM
RESET
faraway on July 17, 2009 at 9:25 AM
Page 3, second question and response…CBS
This is the person who has Barry’s, ummmmmmm,, ear……
Limerick on July 17, 2009 at 9:27 AM
You can bet that it will sound something like this “I am deeply concerned…do not want to meddle…allow all voices be heard in this debate…” and then end with “pass health care reform to end this crisis.”
Or maybe end with something even better: “How did Chris Matthews think I looked in my 501s?”
cyclown on July 17, 2009 at 9:28 AM
Our betters are so intelligent. I could never think of anything so brilliant. We are not good enough to deserve the Obamas…………
Johan Klaus on July 17, 2009 at 9:30 AM
.
I wonder if he went to the trouble of getting some airline security check tags on the bag? It would reduce suspicion of a threat and make it easier to enter the hotel. All it would take is going through a hotel’s trash bins.
journeyintothewhirlwind on July 17, 2009 at 9:34 AM
Don’t worry. He’s probably busy practicing his apology in the mirror right now. Once he gets the right pronunciations and intonations down (gotta sound authentic when you’re talking to your homeboys), we’ll be hearing from him.
AZCoyote on July 17, 2009 at 9:35 AM
I don’t know I suspect Ron wouldn’t think too much about it. The one area I really differ with Ron Paul, is foreign policy. We cannot just isolate our selfs from the world, and expect the world to leave us alone, its way too late for that. Many in the troubled world hate us, but it’s really envy us, and many look to us as their only hope. Many or our traditional allies are having a W.T.F. moment with our election of a communist. The one good thing that is coming out of Obama regime is that many countries that depended on us in past for security are now going to to invest in their own defense, which will help in future. As far as other policies of Ron Paul I agree, just not foreign, and for that alone I don’t want him as president.
Ed Laskie on July 17, 2009 at 9:36 AM
Hey! That looks like Wilshire Blvd. lol
Blake on July 17, 2009 at 9:49 AM
“Bumper Sticker”.
Del Dolemonte on July 17, 2009 at 9:50 AM
JA has about 5,000 Muslims, but most of them are in Kingston which you wouldn’t want to visit anyway. Its killing fields make New Orleans look like Podunk USA.
Del Dolemonte on July 17, 2009 at 9:53 AM
Oh, GOODIE!
Can’t wait to have this guy loose on American streets…he’ll just love the US when obarfi frees him….and he will put down his machete…and be our friend.
ladyingray on July 17, 2009 at 9:59 AM
Dang, that’s the second time that Marriott got hit.
Vashta.Nerada on July 17, 2009 at 10:02 AM
WOW! It sure is a good thing that the filthy liar and the whore at DHS decided to announce that we no longer had a global war on terror. Otherwise this might be viewed as part of a larger pattern where Islamic radicals blow up Western interests and we wouldn’t want that to happen.
highhopes on July 17, 2009 at 10:02 AM
The mirror is only for preening. TOTUS gets a workout when limbering up the “America sucks” statements.
I never thought I’d be ashamed of my country until now.
highhopes on July 17, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Must be the Huckabee faithful. It was clearly an attack on Mormons.
James on July 17, 2009 at 10:06 AM
Now, hang on! If the Uighurs get to live in a bermudan paradise, surely Hambali would deserve Monaco, at the very least?
OldEnglish on July 17, 2009 at 10:23 AM
CBS Mark Knoller just tweated that Obama “strongly” condemns.
JiangxiDad on July 17, 2009 at 10:25 AM
And that US will “continue to partner with Indonesia to eliminate the threat from these violent extremists…”
“partner” –Yuck. Obama is such a girl.
JiangxiDad on July 17, 2009 at 10:26 AM
It is a shame that the mere presence of Obama in the Oval Office is not enough to stop mancaused disaters around the world.
myrenovations on July 17, 2009 at 10:36 AM
yeah, its ashame. Wonder how they keep them from moving into the tourist sections
jp on July 17, 2009 at 10:38 AM
Haven’t they heard…Obama won???
Laura in Maryland on July 17, 2009 at 10:38 AM
I have a bad feeling that these people are practicing what they want to do on our soil.
workingforpigs on July 17, 2009 at 10:56 AM
Send em’ to Palau or the Bahama’s for their punishment
FontanaConservative on July 17, 2009 at 11:13 AM
Damn those Amish!
Tony737 on July 17, 2009 at 11:30 AM
Maybe yes, maybe no, BH. But reasonable men can disagree without being disagreeable, right?
Jaibones on July 17, 2009 at 11:32 AM
It just goes to show you how hard it is to “stamp out” a terrorist group. They did think they had Jemaah Islamiyah stamped out, but in the many small villages and islands of Indonesia, that’s a tall order. Laskar Jihad (”Soldier of Jihad”) is another active, radical Islamic group in Indonesia.
Here is a more extensive video showing the terror suspect pulling a small suitcase through the hotel lobby as well as the blast.
federalistpatriot on July 17, 2009 at 11:35 AM
Because clearly the Muslims killing each other and other people all over the world for the past 40 years are all illiterate.
Jaibones on July 17, 2009 at 11:37 AM
I’m sure none of the perps can be held responsible due to disenfranchisement or something.
BL@KBIRD on July 17, 2009 at 11:40 AM
You can’t stamp out “terrorists” until you stamp out Jihad and you can’t stamp out Jihad unless you stamp out Islam. Bush deeply respected sacred Islam and his Saudi
handlers/advisersfriends taught him how to deal with Islam in a respectful way while trying to winnow out the half dozen or so disenfranchised malcontents that took Muslims grievances too far and hijacked an entire religion (and in some cases whole countries as well).Be assured that Americas top leadership have close friends and closer ties with the Saudi elite. Sound advice like Qur’an kissing and increasing Tribute payments will still flow from your Saudi brothers.
BL@KBIRD on July 17, 2009 at 11:51 AM
I got a “h/t” from Ed! My day is complete.
CarolynM on July 17, 2009 at 12:05 PM
Manchester United is a rugby team as the Giants are a softball team -_-”
azrael on July 17, 2009 at 12:21 PM
Watched the video. At the top left hand corner of the video there are 2 people who walk out from the niche they are standing in and look into the room just after the man enters the (restaurant?) Odd.
journeyintothewhirlwind on July 17, 2009 at 12:53 PM
Kingston is on the southeast side of the island, and there’s not much in the way of “tourist sections” there. The majority of the resorts are along the north shore of the island, in and near MoBay, and Ochi to the east.
When I spent a week at a resort in Ochi in 2001, I saw how they kept the locals out of the place-tall walls topped with barbed wire. The only way the locals could get into the resort was by working there.
Del Dolemonte on July 17, 2009 at 1:07 PM
Is that hotel located on Barry Soetero Boulevard?
guntotinglibertarian on July 17, 2009 at 1:22 PM
Was there an abortion clinic in the hotel?
guntotinglibertarian on July 17, 2009 at 1:25 PM
What does that mean?
guntotinglibertarian on July 17, 2009 at 1:28 PM
I’m a Methodist! How dare you insult Methodists! May God strike you down, off with your head!!
Susanboo on July 17, 2009 at 2:34 PM
Wow! Off the subject a bit, did you see that picture of her on page one? I didn’t know she owned a suit! But I guess she has already worn it once, cannot be seen in it again.
Not to mention that it doesn’t show off her arms.
Susanboo on July 17, 2009 at 2:47 PM
Thanks for that video.
The tv announcers commented on how strangely the terrorist was dressed–hat on during the day, jacket shut, pack on the front. They also commented that the security camera tracked him from the outside, hinting that he was “dicuriga”–suspected–from the outset. As he passes into the restaurant past the lobby, you can see what looks like (to me) two guards turn and look at him–one takes a step forward to look around the corner. He’s still watching when the bomb goes off.
You can see from his gait that he’s carrying quite a bit.
Very sad, and crazy for the Marriot now that they’ve been hit twice. I think these hand carried bombs may have killed more people than the initial Marriot car bomb did.
TexasDan on July 17, 2009 at 3:25 PM
I think “laskar” is actually “army,” and I thought they were disbanded after the returned from Ambon? I was living in Surabaya when a shipload of laskar jihad guys disembarked there. The gov’t did nothing.
TexasDan on July 17, 2009 at 3:28 PM
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