Jakarta blast may have targeted Australian election
Al-Qaida-linked fanatics were being hunted in Indonesia tonight after a car bomb blast outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta killed nine people and wounding 160 in a devastating strike on a key US ally in the war in Iraq.
The bombing – the first attack linked to regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah in more than a year – could affect the Australian elections, in which Prime Minister John Howard is running on a pro-American, anti-terror platform in a tight race.
The blast, which left body parts and bloody corpses strewn across the busy road, was also a reminder of the continuing threat of terrorism in the world’s most populous Muslim nation despite a slew of arrests and convictions.
No one inside the heavily fortified building was killed, although several Australian, Greek and Chinese citizens were wounded in the attack that occurred two days before the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, strikes in the United States.
National police chief General Dai Bachtiar said the bombing was likely the work of Azahari Husin, a British-trained Malaysian engineer who has eluded capture for nearly three years.
Husin, one of Asia’s most-wanted men and an alleged Jemaah Islamiyah member, has been linked to numerous bombings in Indonesia.
Jemaah Islamiyah has been blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including more than 20 young Britons and the, suicide bombing at the JW Marriott hotel near the site of Thursday’s blast.
Australia is a key regional supporter of Washington’s war on terrorism and sent 2,000 troops to participate in the Iraq invasion, which remains deeply unpopular in Indonesia. It still has more than 850 military personnel stationed in or around Iraq.
Islamic extremists are believed to have tried to influence the outcome of elections elsewhere. They blew up packed commuter trains in Madrid on the eve of Spain’s elections earlier this year, killing 191 people.
Shortly afterward, voters elected a Socialist administration that made good on its election pledge to withdraw all Spanish troops from Iraq.
Howard is facing criticism in the campaign over his decision to join Washington in the Iraq war, which his opponents say has made Australia more vulnerable to terror attacks.
“This is not a nation that is going to be intimidated by acts of terrorism,” Howard said today.
Analysts were divided on how the blasts would affect Australia’s October 9 election. Howard is considered stronger on national security than his Labour challenger, Mark Latham – who has pledged to bring most of the Australian troops in Iraq home before Christmas – and may benefit from the perception that Australia is under attack.
The bomb exploded in front of the embassy’s gate, flattening a section of the steel fence and shattering scores of windows in high-rise office buildings up to 500 yards away.
Police were investigating whether a suicide bomber triggered the blast.
Bloodied victims lay sprawled and screaming in front of the embassy, as dazed survivors desperately tried to locate colleagues and missing family members. A severed leg, human scalp and torso were strewn on the street among mangled cars and motorbikes.
Most of the nine dead were Indonesian policemen, embassy security guards and passers-by. The 160 injured were mainly office workers from nearby buildings, cut by flying shards of glass and debris, health officials said.
One of the guards, Muhammad Amsor, said he was about to take up duty in front of the building when the bomber struck, killing one of his colleagues.
“He was a good friend of mine,” he said at a nearby hospital, whose windows had also been smashed by the force of the blast.
“We have been trained to face bombings like this,” he said. “But I am still utterly shocked that it could happen.”
General Bachtiar said the blast bore the hallmark of a Jemaah Islamiyah operation.
“The modus operandi is very similar to other attacks, including the Bali bombings and the Marriott blast,” he said. “We can conclude the perpetrators are the same group.”
