The victim of the explosion in Ritz Carlton. Photo: Posted by simplydunn

Bomb blasts hit Ritz-Carlton, Marriott hotels in Jakarta

The death toll from two bomb blasts at luxury hotels in Jakarta has risen to nine, according to Indonesian government officials.A New Zealander was among those killed when two powerful bombs ripped through the Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels at about 8am local time (1100 AEST) today in downtown Jakarta.At least 50 people have also been injured, including 13 foreigners. Among those injured are an Australian, a New Zealander and a South Korean.

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SLIDESHOW: Pictures from the scene

Twitter breaks Jakarta hotel bombing newsA third explosion was reported near a shopping complex in the north of the Indonesian capital several hours later, but police later denied initial reports it was also a bomb, saying the blast in the Muara Angke area was caused by a faulty car battery. Blood was spattered on the street outside the Marriott and police had sealed off the area, an AFP correspondent said. Embedded video from CNN VideoA large plume of smoke could be seen rising above the upscale Mega Kuningan business district.Windows had been blown out of a second-storey restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton, but there was little damage to the Marriott that was visible from outside.The Sydney Morning Herald's Indonesia correspondent Tom Allard said one bomb was reportedly detonated inside the Ritz-Carlton."I'm looking at it now, you can see all the windows punched out on one side,'' Allard told 2UE radio from outside the back of the hotel."[I've been told] the bomb actually went off inside the restaurant at the time people were actually sitting there to have their breakfasts."He said he could see what appeared to be dead bodies being pulled out of the building and badly injured people being helped out. An Australian man called Jim told 2UE his son was injured in the explosion at the Marriott.
View Jakarta hotel bomb blasts in a larger mapThe man said his son phoned him from Jakarta, where he was working, and told him he was on his way to hospital.His left leg was bleeding and he'd lost hearing in one ear but he told his father he was OK, the man said.It is not yet clear whether any of those killed are Australians.President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was re-elected to a second term in the mainly Muslim country last week, was "deeply concerned over this incident,'' a spokesman for his office said. The bombings come a day after an analyst warned that Indonesian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), dormant following an effective police crackdown resulting in the arrest and execution of some members, was on the rise again and set to strike.The Islamic militant network has been blamed for a string of bombings on local and Western targets in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia in recent years. As well as the 2002 Bali bombings and 2003 Marriott attack, JI was also blamed for a suicide attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta in 2004 which left 10 dead and a second attack in Bali in 2005 which killed 20.Embedded video from CNN Video Soccer team Manchester United were due to tour Jakarta within days and were reportedly planning to stay at the Marriott Hotel.A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said it was in contact with the Australian embassy in Jakarta to investigate what happened.

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Bomb blasts hit Ritz-Carlton, Marriott hotels in Jakarta

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