2009 Jakarta bombings
Encyclopedia
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 Australia
ns, 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.
, 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 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.
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.
The bombs were smuggled into the JW Marriott one day before the blast through the hotel's loading dock using a pick-up truck rented by Ibrohim. The bomb design and materials of an unexploded bomb found by Police in room 1808 were identical to those used by Jemaah Islamiyah in previous attacks.
The suicide bomber of the JW Marriott Hotel was Dani Dwi Permana, a 18-year-old graduate of a private senior high school in Bogor
, West Java
. The suicide bomber of the Ritz-Carlton hotel was Nana Ikhwan Maulana, a 28-year-old former resident of Pandeglang, Banten
. Dani rented room 1808 in the JW Marriott. The room was paid for by Amir Abdillah, who was arrested on August 5.
On August 7, police raided a house in Temanggung, Central Java
. Three people were arrested and one person was killed, later identified to be Ibrohim. On August 8, police raided a house in Bekasi
, West Java
, killing two people believed to be preparing to attack the Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
with a truck bomb near his private residence in Bogor
, West Java
.
Funding for the bombings is believed to have been provided from the Middle East. A number of suspects, including a Saudi Arabian national, have been arrested by Indonesian police for their involvement in handling the funds.
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.
Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. is a worldwide operator and franchisor of a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Founded by J. Willard Marriott, the company is now led by son J.W. Marriott, Jr...
and Ritz-Carlton
Ritz-Carlton
The Ritz-Carlton is a brand of luxury hotels and resorts with 75 properties located in major cities and resorts in 24 countries worldwide...
Hotels in 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...
, were hit by separate bombings five minutes apart. Three of the seven victims who were killed were 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...
ns, two from The Netherlands, and one each from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
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 IslamiyahJemaah 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 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...
-linked group seeking to unite Indonesia, Malaysia, and the southern Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
under an Islamic state.
The Marriott had previously been suicide bombed in 2003
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...
.
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
United States Chamber of Commerce
The United States Chamber of Commerce is an American lobbying group representing the interests of many businesses and trade associations. It is not an agency of the United States government....
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 HolcimHolcim
Holcim is a Swiss-based global company supplying cement and aggregates . The company also supplies ready-mix concrete and asphalt including associated construction services.-Holcim Group:...
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.
Investigation
Police believe planning for the bombings was led by Noordin M. Top. The first meeting had been held on April 30. Ibrohim, a florist who worked for a florist company which had stores in both the bombed hotels, was another key organiser. Ibrohim was recruited in 2000 by Saifudin Jaelani (aka Saifudin Zuhri bin Jaelani Irsyad), his brother-in-law, while he was working as a florist at the Hotel Mulia in Jakarta. In 2005, Ibrohim and Jaelani were inaugurated as members of Noordin's special forces. Ibrohim set strategies, conducted surveys of the locations and smuggled the bombs into the hotels. Saifudin Jaelani is believed to have also recruited the suicide bombers for the operation.The bombs were smuggled into the JW Marriott one day before the blast through the hotel's loading dock using a pick-up truck rented by Ibrohim. The bomb design and materials of an unexploded bomb found by Police in room 1808 were identical to those used by Jemaah Islamiyah in previous attacks.
The suicide bomber of the JW Marriott Hotel was Dani Dwi Permana, a 18-year-old graduate of a private senior high school in Bogor
Bogor
Bogor is a city on the island of Java in the West Java province of Indonesia. The city is located in the center of the Bogor Regency , 60 kilometers south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta...
, West Java
West Java
West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...
. The suicide bomber of the Ritz-Carlton hotel was Nana Ikhwan Maulana, a 28-year-old former resident of Pandeglang, Banten
Banten
Banten is a province of Indonesia in Java. Formerly part of the Province of West Java, it was made a separate province in 2000.The administrative center is Serang. Preliminary results from the 2010 census counted some 10.6 million people.-Geography:...
. Dani rented room 1808 in the JW Marriott. The room was paid for by Amir Abdillah, who was arrested on August 5.
On August 7, police raided a house in Temanggung, 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...
. Three people were arrested and one person was killed, later identified to be Ibrohim. On August 8, police raided a house in Bekasi
Bekasi
Bekasi is a city in West Java, Indonesia, located on the eastern border of Jakarta in the Jabodetabek metropolitan region. To the south is Bogor Regency, east is Bekasi Regency....
, West Java
West Java
West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...
, killing two people believed to be preparing to attack the Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono AC , is an Indonesian politician and retired Army general officer who has been President of Indonesia since 2004....
with a truck bomb near his private residence in Bogor
Bogor
Bogor is a city on the island of Java in the West Java province of Indonesia. The city is located in the center of the Bogor Regency , 60 kilometers south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta...
, West Java
West Java
West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...
.
Funding for the bombings is believed to have been provided from the Middle East. A number of suspects, including a Saudi Arabian national, have been arrested by Indonesian police for their involvement in handling the funds.
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
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, 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.
External links
- Timeline: Bombings in Indonesia
- CCTV video in Ritz-Carlton hotel just before the explosion
- Terror in Jakarta: Twin Hotel Bombs - slideshow by Life Magazine
- The Bomber - This Al Jazeera documentary follows Jaka Karyana as he tries to piece together the story of his younger brother Dani Dwi Permana, who carried out the suicide bombing.