
A bomb explosion has killed at least 13 people and injured more than 100 at the luxury Marriott Hotel in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
The blast severely damaged five floors of the American-run hotel, shattering glass and damaging cars parked outside.
Indonesian Defence Minister Matori Abdul Jalil said it was a bomb attack and "clearly an act of terrorism".
At least one foreigner, the executive of a Dutch bank, is among the dead.
About 120 people from a range of nationalities are said to have been injured.
Earlier reports that nationals from the US, Australia and Malaysia had been killed have not been confirmed.
The governor of Jakarta, Sutiyoso, said the explosion was "very likely" to have been carried out by a suicide bomber.
Police chief General Da'i Bachtiar said there were similarities between Tuesday's attack and the devastating blast in Bali last October which left 202 people dead.
Police have said that in Bali, a suicide bomber detonated his bomb moments before an explosives-laden van blew up across the street.
Destruction
Police say the Jakarta bomb is thought to have been inside a Toyota car parked outside the lobby of the hotel, which is located near foreign embassies and office blocks.
The explosion came during a busy lunchtime in the commercial part of city.
Burned bodies lay amid pools of blood in the street among the shattered glass and twisted metal as flames and black smoke billowing up the building, correspondents say.
No comments:
Post a Comment