Terrorist Attack

2003 Marriott Hotel bombing The 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing occurred on 5 August 2003 in Mega Kuningan, South Jakarta, Indonesia. A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb outside the lobby of the JW Marriott Hotel, killing twelve people and injuring 150. All those killed were Indonesian with the exception of one Dutch businessman, one Danish, and two Chinese tourists. The hotel was viewed as a Western symbol, and had been used by the United States embassy for various events. The hotel was closed for five weeks and reopened to the public on 8 September.

Prelude Two weeks prior to the bombing, there was a tip call to senior Indonesian police officers from a militant captured during a raid in Semarang that two carloads of bomb-making materials were heading to the capital, Jakarta. During the raid, the police also discovered some drawings outlining specific areas in the city for possible attacks. The explosion A Toyota Kijang, bought on July 20, 2003, from a Jakarta businessman for 25.75 million rupiah was loaded with explosives and driven through the taxi stand in front of the Marriott Hotel. The vehicle stopped briefly in front of the lobby and CCTV cameras show a security guard approaching the vehicle, briefly speaking to the driver. The security guard then turns and a detonation can be seen. It is still not clear if the explosion was accidental, set off by remote detonation or a timer exploding prematurely. If the vehicle had kept a course heading straight for the lobby the damage would undoubtedly have been more severe. The blast radius was visible along the shattered windows of nearby buildings.

According to Indonesian police, one of the ingredients in the car bomb contained the same chemical used in the deadly 2002 Bali bombing. The bombs in both cases were made of the same mixture of explosives, mobile phones were used as detonators, and the attackers had tried to scrape off the identification numbers from the vehicle bombs. The severed head of Asmar Latin Sani, aged 28, and from West Sumatra, was later found on the fifth floor of the building, The head was identified by two jailed members of the Jemaah Islamiah group who said they had recruited him. Investigators uncovered the charred remains of a battery used to power the bomb and said it was similar to the ones used in a series of bombings against Christian churches on Christmas Eve 2000, in which 19 people were killed. The attack came two days before a verdict in the trial of the Bali nightclub bombers. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack and the perpetrators are known to have trained in al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing, 2008

The Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing occurred on 20 September 2008, when a dump truck filled with explosives detonated in front of the Marriott Hotel in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, killing at least 54, injuring at least 266 and leaving a 60 ft (20 m) wide, 20 ft (6 m) deep crater outside the hotel. The majority of the casualties were Pakistanis; although at least five foreign nationals were killed and fifteen others reported injured. The attack occurred mere hours after President Asif Ali Zardari made his first speech to parliament. The Marriott was the most prestigious hotel in the capital, located near government buildings and diplomatic missions. It was popular with foreigners and the Pakistani elite. The hotel had previously been the target of militants. In 2007, a suicide bomber killed himself and another person in an attack at the hotel. The Islamabad Marriott reopened on December 28.

ATTACK

The blast caused a natural gas leak that set the top floor of the five-story, 258-room hotel on fire, police said. The massive explosion was heard 15 kilometres away. The blaze that followed quickly engulfed the entire structure of the hotel. About two-thirds of the building caught fire as a result of the explosion after a natural gas pipe was blown open, and the reception area was completely destroyed.

The owner of the hotel, Hashoo Group, owned by Sadruddin Hashwani, who is an Ismaili Shia, said the truck carrying the bomb had been stopped at the front barrier. "Some shots were fired. One of our guards fired back, and in the

meantime he detonated all the explosives. All the guards on the gate died," said hotel owner Sadruddin Hashwani. Most of the dead were Pakistani, but foreigners also died. Two American military personnel and a Danish intelligence agent were killed, and a U.S. State Department employee was missing and presumed dead. The Czech ambassador to Pakistan, Dr. Ivo Žďárek, also died in the ensuing fire along with his Vietnamese companion. Although Žďárek had survived the initial blast, he returned to the hotel to help in the rescue effort but was trapped in the burning building. In addition, six Germans, four Britons and a Filipina receptionist from the hotel were among the injured. Pakistani leadership was scheduled to meet at the hotel Pakistan's top leaders were to have been in the Islamabad Marriott hotel when it was bombed; instead, having changed their plans at the last minute, they gathered for dinner at the Prime Minister's house, a few hundred yards from the explosion, following President Asif Ali Zardari maiden address to a joint session of parliament. "The national assembly speaker had arranged a dinner for the entire leadership - for the president, prime minister and armed services chiefs - at the Marriott that day," the Interior ministry head, Rehman Malik, told reporters. However, the hotel owner, Sadruddin Hashwani, denied that such a meeting had ever been scheduled to take place.According to a spokesman for Hashwani, "We didn't have any reservation for such a dinner that the government official is talking about."

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said both Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani condemned the attack and vowed their determination to deal with terrorism, with Law Minister Farooq Naek stating "this is Pakistan's 9/11". Consequences

President Asif Ali Zardari was considering delaying his visit to the US to attend the UN General Assembly session in the wake of the bombing. MP Ayaz Amir said that he felt that the president should cancel his visit given the circumstances, and instead should combat terrorism and extremism. He added, "I believe that the UN General Assembly annual session is the most useless event in the world where leaders go to listen their own speeches." However, Zardari did make it to New York for the opening of the new session of the General Assembly. Due to the attack, British Airways suspended flights to Pakistan as a precautionary measure "until further notice."

2009 Jakarta Marriott bombings At around 7:50 am local time (0:50 UTC) on 17 July 2009, the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia, were hit by separate bombings five minutes apart.

Three of the seven victims who were killed were Australians, two from The Netherlands, and one each from New Zealand and Indonesia. More than 50 people were injured in the blasts. Both blasts were caused by suicide bombers, who checked into the hotels as paying guests several days earlier. The twin suicide bombings came four years after the last serious terrorist attack in Indonesia.

Background Since the 2002 Bali bombings, in which over 200 were killed, Indonesia has stepped up attempts to crack down on terrorism. An anti-terrorism law was confirmed by the Indonesian legislature in 2003. The 2002 attack was carried out by Jemaah Islamiyah, an al-Qaeda-linked group seeking to unite Indonesia, Malaysia, and the southern Philippines under an Islamic state. The Marriott had previously been suicide bombed in 2003.

The attacks The Marriott bombing occurred first and was followed five minutes later by the Ritz bombing. Police moved to seal off the surrounding area. At noon local time, an unexploded bomb was found in room 1808 of the Marriott, together with "bomb-making equipment". The Ritz-Carlton explosion is thought to have originated in the Airlangga Restaurant on the second story,where people were eating breakfast. There was said to be glass everywhere. A part of the facade of the Ritz Carlton was blown away by the blast and windows had been blown out. The Marriott bombing occurred during one of a series of periodic breakfast meetings of CEOs and other prominent (and predominantly expatriate)

members of the Jakarta business community hosted by James Castle, president of AmCham Indonesia, a branch of the United States Chamber of Commerce in Jakarta. The Marriott bomb was detonated in a small breakfast room rented for the event, and not in the main restaurant. One witness said the lobby of the neighboring Plaza Mutiara building was destroyed in the explosion. The unexploded bomb in room 1808 of the JW Marriott hotel was programmed to go off prior to the other bomb there, but its timer malfunctioned. The Indonesian police believe the bomb was intended to create an atmosphere of panic, causing guests to flee their rooms to exit the hotel, and generating a significant crowd in the lobby. Had this occurred as planned, the lobby bomb may have taken a much greater toll

Casualties There were nine fatalities; three Australians, one New Zealander, two Dutch tourists, and three Indonesians (including two suicide bombers). The Australians killed were Austrade official Craig Senger, mining executive Garth McEvoy and Perth businessman Nathan Verity. New Zealander Tim Mackay died; he was president/director of PT Holcim Indonesia and a master mariner. Indonesians killed included Evert Mokodompis, a waiter at the JW Marriott Hotel. Sixteen foreigners were treated at Metropolitan Medical Center (MMC) hospital. A New Zealander, a Canadian, an Indian and 3 Dutch men were reported injured.

Aftermath

The bombings were deplored by numerous governments—in Indonesia, elsewhere in the region, and around the world. President Barack Obama, who spent a portion of his childhood in Jakarta stated, "I strongly condemn the attacks that occurred this morning in Jakarta, and extend my deepest condolences to all of the victims and their loved ones. The US government stands ready to help the Indonesian government respond to and recover from these outrageous attacks as a friend and partner." Manchester United, which had been scheduled to play an exhibition football match in Jakarta on 20 July 2009 and had booked rooms at the Ritz Carlton, cancelled the Jakarta leg of its tour.