2004 Jakarta embassy bombing
Encyclopedia
The 2004 Australian embassy bombing took place on 9 September 2004 in Jakarta
, Indonesia
.
A one-tonne car bomb
, which was packed into a small Daihatsu delivery van, exploded outside the Australia
n embassy at Kuningan District, South Jakarta
, at about 10:30 local time (03:30 UTC), killing 9 people including the suicide bomber, and wounding over 150 others. It gutted the Greek Embassy on the 12th floor of an adjacent building, where three diplomats there were slightly wounded. Damage to the nearby Chinese
embassy was also reported. Numerous office buildings surrounding the embassy were also damaged by the blast, which shattered windows in buildings 500 metres (546.8 yd) away, injuring many workers inside, mostly by broken glass.
A dispute ensued as to how many civilians lost their lives after the explosion: local health authorities in Jakarta reported 9 deaths, compared to 11 deaths reported by Australian officials. Nonetheless, all Australians working at the embassy were reported alive. Among the victims killed were embassy security guard Anton Sujarwo, 23, and four Indonesian policemen on duty at the embassy. The rest were civilians, including the embassy gardener, Suryadi, 34, two embassy workers, a visa applicant, and a pedestrian.
expressed his "utter dismay at this event" and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
said, "this was aimed at the Australian Embassy, there's no question of that" and that the investigators' "suspicions turn to Jemaah Islamiah".
It is unclear whether the incident was intended to influence either of the two upcoming regional
elections:the final stage of the Indonesian presidential elections
scheduled for 20 September, or the Australian elections scheduled for 9 October.
The then Australian Opposition Leader Mark Latham
said "The terrorists
responsible for this attack are evil and barbaric and must be dealt with as harshly as possible and as quickly as possible" and committed the Labor Party
's "full support to all efforts by the Australian and Indonesian governments to ensure that happens".
A grainy photograph of a white delivery van suspected of carrying the bomb and the attackers was released by Indonesian police. Minister Downer claimed that a mobile phone text message was sent to Indonesian authorities about 45 minutes before the bomb detonated, warning of attacks unless the leader of Jemaah Islamiah Abu Bakar Bashir
was released, and said that the warning was not delivered to the Australian Federal Police
until several hours after the bombing. Indonesian police denied receiving such a message.
This was the third recent major attack involving Australians or Australian targets in Indonesia, after the 2002 Bali bombing
, and the 2003 J.W. Marriott Hotel bombing. The executors of that attack, Jemaah Islamiyah
, were also head suspects for this bombing.
Responsibility for the attack was claimed by Jemaah Islamiyah
, an organisation which has also claimed responsibility for multiple attacks including the 2002 Bali bombing
and alleged to have links with al-Qaeda
. An Islamist web site, www.islamic-minbar.com, posted a statement by Jemaah Islamiyah saying:
Police announced that Azahari Husin
and Noordin Mohammed Top
were suspected of being behind the bombing; Azahari was killed in a police raid in November 2005 at Batu
, East Java
, while Noordin was killed on 17 September 2009 at Surakarta
, Central Java
.
On 1 October 2004, authorities identified the suicide bomber as Heri Golun, based on DNA tests done at the scene.
On 10 November 2004, Indonesian police arrested Rois, also known as Iwan Dharmawan, along with five other suspects in West Java. During questioning, Rois claimed that he had received funds for the attack from a courier that was sent by Osama Bin Laden via Malaysia.
He told police: “According to Dr Azahari’s explanation to me at the time, the funds came from Osama bin Laden, and they were sent by a courier, but he didn’t say the name or when he received it.”
He stated that the motivation for the bombing was Australia’s involvement in the Iraq war: "The intention to bomb the Australian embassy was because the Australian government is the American lackey most active in supporting American policies to slaughter Muslims in Iraq."
On 13 September 2005 Rois was sentenced to death for his role in the bombing but appeared to recant his earlier confession by telling the court: "I reject the death sentence. I reject a day or even an hour of sentence because I'm innocent and I wasn't involved in this."
An appeal by Rois’s lawyers against the death penalty was rejected by the Indonesian High Court in December 2005.
On 5 May 2006 the International Crisis Group
released its report entitled Terrorism in Indonesia. It described the events leading up the attack;
In March 2005, Irun Hidayat was charged with being an accessory
by giving money to one of the bombing's perpetrators and providing housing after the attack for Azahari and Noordin. On 21 July, he was convicted of being an accessory by providing a house to Azahari and Noordin, but not to having planned the September attack, and was sentenced to three years in jail. Hidayat was the first man to stand trial related to the embassy bombing. According to the ICG report:
Agus Ahmad was also captured and put on trial. He helped one of the core bombers, "Rios", scout for safe houses and transported around 70 kilograms of highly explosive TNT. Arrests in July 2004 near the city of Solo forced Azahari and Noordin to change their base of operations. Agus used a Daihatsu van to move the explosives to his own house in Cianjur
, near Jakarta
.
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
A one-tonne car bomb
Car bomb
A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
, which was packed into a small Daihatsu delivery van, exploded outside the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n embassy at Kuningan District, South Jakarta
South Jakarta
South Jakarta is a city within Jakarta Special District, Indonesia. It had a population of 2,057,080 at the 2010 Census, and is the third most populous among the five cities of Jakarta, after East Jakarta and West Jakarta...
, at about 10:30 local time (03:30 UTC), killing 9 people including the suicide bomber, and wounding over 150 others. It gutted the Greek Embassy on the 12th floor of an adjacent building, where three diplomats there were slightly wounded. Damage to the nearby Chinese
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
embassy was also reported. Numerous office buildings surrounding the embassy were also damaged by the blast, which shattered windows in buildings 500 metres (546.8 yd) away, injuring many workers inside, mostly by broken glass.
A dispute ensued as to how many civilians lost their lives after the explosion: local health authorities in Jakarta reported 9 deaths, compared to 11 deaths reported by Australian officials. Nonetheless, all Australians working at the embassy were reported alive. Among the victims killed were embassy security guard Anton Sujarwo, 23, and four Indonesian policemen on duty at the embassy. The rest were civilians, including the embassy gardener, Suryadi, 34, two embassy workers, a visa applicant, and a pedestrian.
Reactions
Australian Prime Minister John HowardJohn Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
expressed his "utter dismay at this event" and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
Alexander Downer
Alexander John Gosse Downer is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history...
said, "this was aimed at the Australian Embassy, there's no question of that" and that the investigators' "suspicions turn to Jemaah Islamiah".
It is unclear whether the incident was intended to influence either of the two upcoming regional
elections:the final stage of the Indonesian presidential elections
Indonesian presidential election, 2004
The first direct presidential election in Indonesia was held in two rounds on 5 July and 20 September 2004. Prior to a 2002 amendment to the Constitution of Indonesia, the President and Vice President was elected by the country's top legislative body, the People's Consultative Assembly.Under the...
scheduled for 20 September, or the Australian elections scheduled for 9 October.
The then Australian Opposition Leader Mark Latham
Mark Latham
Mark William Latham , an author and former Australian politician, was leader of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from December 2003 to January 2005....
said "The terrorists
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
responsible for this attack are evil and barbaric and must be dealt with as harshly as possible and as quickly as possible" and committed the Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
's "full support to all efforts by the Australian and Indonesian governments to ensure that happens".
A grainy photograph of a white delivery van suspected of carrying the bomb and the attackers was released by Indonesian police. Minister Downer claimed that a mobile phone text message was sent to Indonesian authorities about 45 minutes before the bomb detonated, warning of attacks unless the leader of Jemaah Islamiah Abu Bakar Bashir
Abu Bakar Bashir
Abu Bakar Bashir Abu Bakar Bashir Abu Bakar Bashir (also Abubakar Ba'asyir, Abdus Somad, and Ustad Abu ("Teacher Abu"), born 17 August 1938, is an Indonesian Muslim cleric and leader of the Indonesian Mujahedeen Council (MMI)....
was released, and said that the warning was not delivered to the Australian Federal Police
Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police is the federal police agency of the Commonwealth of Australia. Although the AFP was created by the amalgamation in 1979 of three Commonwealth law enforcement agencies, it traces its history from Commonwealth law enforcement agencies dating back to the federation of...
until several hours after the bombing. Indonesian police denied receiving such a message.
This was the third recent major attack involving Australians or Australian targets in Indonesia, after the 2002 Bali bombing
2002 Bali bombing
The 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack was claimed as the deadliest act of terrorism in the history of Indonesia according to the current police general, killing 202 people,...
, and the 2003 J.W. Marriott Hotel bombing. The executors of that attack, Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiah , is a Southeast Asian militant Islamic organization dedicated to the establishment of a Daulah Islamiyah in Southeast Asia incorporating Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Philippines, Singapore and Brunei...
, were also head suspects for this bombing.
Investigation
Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiah , is a Southeast Asian militant Islamic organization dedicated to the establishment of a Daulah Islamiyah in Southeast Asia incorporating Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Philippines, Singapore and Brunei...
, an organisation which has also claimed responsibility for multiple attacks including the 2002 Bali bombing
2002 Bali bombing
The 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack was claimed as the deadliest act of terrorism in the history of Indonesia according to the current police general, killing 202 people,...
and alleged to have links with al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
. An Islamist web site, www.islamic-minbar.com, posted a statement by Jemaah Islamiyah saying:
Police announced that Azahari Husin
Azahari Husin
Dr. Azahari bin Husin was a Malaysian who was believed to be the technical mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombing. He was killed in a police raid on his hideout in Indonesia in 2005. He was nicknamed the "Demolition Man".-History:He received extensive bomb training in Afghanistan...
and Noordin Mohammed Top
Noordin Mohammed Top
Noordin Mohammad Top , of Malaysian citizenship, was a Muslim extremist, also referred to as Din Moch Top, Muh Top, or Mat Top, was Indonesia's most wanted Islamist militant....
were suspected of being behind the bombing; Azahari was killed in a police raid in November 2005 at Batu
Batu (city)
Batu is a city located in East Java, Indonesia. Formerly, It was a part of Malang regency; but in 2001, Batu became an independent city legalized by Act of 11, 2001, when it became a municipal town with its own city mayor and council....
, East Java
East Java
East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and islands to its east and to its north East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and...
, while Noordin was killed on 17 September 2009 at Surakarta
Surakarta
Surakarta, also called Solo or Sala, is a city in Central Java, Indonesia of more than 520,061 people with a population density of 11,811.5 people/km2. The 44 km2 city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and...
, Central Java
Central Java
Central Java is a province of Indonesia. The administrative capital is Semarang. It is one of six provinces on the island of Java.This province is the province of high Human Development in Indonesia and its Points Development Index countries is equivalent to Lebanon. The province of Central Java...
.
On 1 October 2004, authorities identified the suicide bomber as Heri Golun, based on DNA tests done at the scene.
On 10 November 2004, Indonesian police arrested Rois, also known as Iwan Dharmawan, along with five other suspects in West Java. During questioning, Rois claimed that he had received funds for the attack from a courier that was sent by Osama Bin Laden via Malaysia.
He told police: “According to Dr Azahari’s explanation to me at the time, the funds came from Osama bin Laden, and they were sent by a courier, but he didn’t say the name or when he received it.”
He stated that the motivation for the bombing was Australia’s involvement in the Iraq war: "The intention to bomb the Australian embassy was because the Australian government is the American lackey most active in supporting American policies to slaughter Muslims in Iraq."
On 13 September 2005 Rois was sentenced to death for his role in the bombing but appeared to recant his earlier confession by telling the court: "I reject the death sentence. I reject a day or even an hour of sentence because I'm innocent and I wasn't involved in this."
An appeal by Rois’s lawyers against the death penalty was rejected by the Indonesian High Court in December 2005.
On 5 May 2006 the International Crisis Group
International Crisis Group
The International Crisis Group is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization whose mission is to prevent and resolve deadly conflicts around the world through field-based analyses and high-level advocacy.-History:...
released its report entitled Terrorism in Indonesia. It described the events leading up the attack;
On 5 August, at Noordin’s instructions, Rois set off to retrieve Heri Golun, who had been selected as the suicide bomber, and buy the Daihatsu vehicle that was used in the bombing. He enlisted the help of Irun Hidayat in both tasks. From then until 17 August, frantic activity moving the principals, purchasing additional materials for the bombs and raising funds – alternated with lulls, when the operatives went to Internet cafes to pass the time. On 17 August, Noordin asked Rois to check on Heri Golun’s state of mind. When Heri said he was ready, he moved into the house where Noordin and Azhari were and slept in their room at night, so they could give him additional religious counselling. On 23 August, Rois started to teach Heri Golun how to drive, and on 9 September, the new driver blew himself in front of the Australian embassy.
In March 2005, Irun Hidayat was charged with being an accessory
Accessory (legal term)
An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal...
by giving money to one of the bombing's perpetrators and providing housing after the attack for Azahari and Noordin. On 21 July, he was convicted of being an accessory by providing a house to Azahari and Noordin, but not to having planned the September attack, and was sentenced to three years in jail. Hidayat was the first man to stand trial related to the embassy bombing. According to the ICG report:
Irun Hidayat was also a central figure. Inducted into Darul Islam by Kang Jaja in 1987 at fifteen, he was in the same class at Serang Islamic High School as Imam Samudra and Heri Hafidin, one of the three owners of CV Sajira. He became a close friend of Rois, and the two went to Ambon in January 2002. Irun became a martial arts instructor in the military training sessions run by Kang Jaja and Rois.
Since 1999, Irun also had been the local head of the religious council of the Indonesian Muslim Workers Union (Perserikatan Pekerja Muslim Indonesia, PPIM). He was to call on a fellow unionist to put up the bombers the night before they struck the embassy
Agus Ahmad was also captured and put on trial. He helped one of the core bombers, "Rios", scout for safe houses and transported around 70 kilograms of highly explosive TNT. Arrests in July 2004 near the city of Solo forced Azahari and Noordin to change their base of operations. Agus used a Daihatsu van to move the explosives to his own house in Cianjur
Cianjur
Cianjur is a city in the West Java province of Indonesia, the capital of Cianjur Regency. Cianjur is located in the middle of the main road between Jakarta and Bandung . The population is about 146,874...
, near Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
.
See also
- List of terrorist incidents
- 2002 Bali bombing2002 Bali bombingThe 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack was claimed as the deadliest act of terrorism in the history of Indonesia according to the current police general, killing 202 people,...
- 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing2003 Marriott Hotel bombingThe 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...
- 2005 Bali bombings2005 Bali bombingsThe 2005 Bali bombings were a series of terrorist suicide bomb and a series of car bombs and attacks that occurred on October 1, 2005, in Bali, Indonesia. Bombs exploded at two sites in Jimbaran Beach Resort and in Kuta away, both in south Bali. The terrorist attack claimed the lives of 20 people...
- 2009 Jakarta hotel bombings
External links
- Reuters article
- BBC News article
- Jakarta victims remember embassy blast
- "Terrorism in Indonesia: Noordins Networks", International Crisis GroupInternational Crisis GroupThe International Crisis Group is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization whose mission is to prevent and resolve deadly conflicts around the world through field-based analyses and high-level advocacy.-History:...
- "Combating JI in Indonesia" Ng Boon Yian
- Jemaah Islamiyah Shown to Have Significant Ties to al Qaeda