Travel warning as more terrorist attacks expected
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday July 20, 2009
THE Australian Government has warned that more terrorist attacks could be launched in Jakarta after Friday's twin blasts that killed nine and injured more than 50 others at the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels.With the smuggling of bombs into heavily protected buildings and mounting evidence that the bomber in the JW Marriott hotel targeted a breakfast meeting of executives, it is becoming clear that Friday's mass murders were a sophisticated operation involving numerous people.But there have been no arrests and the man many suspect of being the mastermind, the fugitive Malaysian-born terrorist Noordin Mohammed Top, remains at large."There is a possibility of further terrorist attacks in Jakarta and elsewhere in Indonesia, including Bali," the advisory said yesterday. "Reconsider your need to travel."It is the second-highest level of alert, below the blanket warning of "do not travel".Three Australians died in the attacks, Craig Senger, Nathan Verity and Garth McEvoy.Indonesian investigators were yet to identify either of the suicide bombers, said Nanan Soekarna, a national police spokesman.They are continuing to try to reconstruct their features from their severed heads to establish their identity, he added.A room in the Marriott hotel that was the "control centre" of the operation was booked under the name Nurdin Aziz.While police are still trying to establish the bona fides of that name, a terrorism analyst, Sidney Jones, said she suspected the man was Nur Hasbi, a member of a terrorism group led by Noordin.Meanwhile, a laptop believed to belong to one of the suicide bombers was discovered in a room at the Ritz Carlton that could prove to be a vital breakthrough for the investigation.Jakarta Police's Chryshnanda Dwi Laksana said the laptop contained information and codes, believed to have been used by the bombers to communicate with each other.Australian security forces, along with the Malaysia and Singaporean governments, are assisting the Indonesians in an intensified manhunt for Noordin, who has played a role in terrorist attacks in Indonesia going back to the first Bali bombings in 2002.The bombs used in Friday's attacks were very similar to an explosive device uncovered at the home of Noordin's father-in-law in Cilacap just three days before the attack. They are also like the bombs used in the second Bali bombings organised by Noordin.Australia's national security committee of cabinet has met four times since the bombings as intelligence chiefs briefed senior ministers on developments.The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, described the Jakarta bombings as "a violent, barbaric act of murder".He said an Austrade officer, Craig Senger, was the first Australian civilian official killed by terrorists while on duty.Mr Senger's family issued a statement saying what a wonderful husband, son, brother and friend he was. "Craig greatly enjoyed his life in Jakarta," the family said. "He performed a rewarding job that he loved and he really valued the many friends that he had made there."Meanwhile, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, was given a tour of the sites of the bombings and spoke with family members of the Australian victims, including the wife of Mr Senger, Kate..Mr McEvoy's family flew to Jakarta from Brisbane to reclaim his body while Mr Verity's wife, Vanessa, and father, Peter, visited the police morgue, where the remains of the Perth businessman were being kept.Mr Smith paid tribute to the staff at the Australian embassy in Jakarta, many of whom knew Mr Senger, who had worked there. "It's been a really terrific display of sympathy and solidarity to fellow Australians," he said.with Brendan Nicholson
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
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