Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Suspected Muslim militants detonated a car bomb Thursday outdoors the Australian Embassy inJakarta (search), killing 9 men and women and wounding 173 in a bloody strike at a crucial U.S. ally in the war in Iraq.

The blast the first significant assault attributed toJemaah Islamiyah (search)in more than a year could influence elections in Australia, in which the prime minister is operating on a pro-American, anti-terror platform.

The bombing also comes just ahead of Indonesia's presidential elections and two days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. The explosion left body parts and bloody corpses strewn across the active thoroughfare and shattered windows in buildings 500 yards away. It gutted the Greek Embassy on the 12th floor of an adjacent constructing, slightly wounding 3 diplomats.

Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian terror group linked toAl Qaeda (search), purportedly claimed duty for https://www.facebook.com/amazingweddinghk produced Australia far more vulnerable to terror attacks.

"This is not a nation that is going to be intimidated by acts of terrorism," Howard said following Thursday's bombing.

Analysts have been divided on how the bombing would impact Australia's Oct. 9 election. Howard is deemed stronger on nationwide protection than Labor challenger Mark Latham who has pledged to bring the troops property prior to Christmas and could advantage from the perception that Australia is below assault.

The bomb exploded shortly right after ten:15 a.m. near the embassy gate, flattening a part of the steel fence and shattering windows in nearby buildings.

Police were investigating whether a suicide bomber triggered the blast.

"It was an massive bomb. The enormity of the crater, the police truck outside has been blown to bits, it is like the wind has been pushed out of you," embassy media officer Elizabeth O'Neill told Australia's Nine Television Network.

Bloodied victims lay sprawled and screaming in front of the embassy, as dazed survivors experimented with to discover colleagues and relatives. A severed leg, human scalp and torso lay on the street amid wrecked automobiles and motorbikes.

"I cannot locate my family," explained a single woman, Suharti, who had eight family members functioning at the embassy. "I am terrified. I will not know where they are."

The dead integrated policemen, embassy security guards and passers-by. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLubHYpkZQgThe wounded have been primarily men and women who worked nearby and were minimize by flying glass and debris.

1 guard, Muhammad Amsor, stated he was about to begin perform in front of the creating when the bomb went off, killing a co-worker. "We have been skilled to face bombings like this," he said. "But I am still utterly shocked that it could occur."

At the bomb internet site, nationwide police chief Gen. Dai Bachtiar explained the blast bore the hallmark of Jemaah Islamiyah.

"The modus operandi is extremely related to other attacks, like the Bali bombings and the Marriott blast," he said. "We can conclude (the perpetrators) are the very same group."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXYOqzbsDX8

Bachtiar mentioned the bombing was very likely the perform of Husin, a British-skilled Malaysian engineer who is 1 of Asia's most-wished fugitives. Husin has been linked to several bombings in Indonesia, which includes the Bali blasts.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri lower quick a journey to Brunei, in which she was attending a royal wedding, and toured the bomb scene.

"I ask all the Indonesian men and women to unite in fighting terrorism," she mentioned. "Allow us all condemn what has been carried out by (terrorists) because we have noticed there are so several innocent victims."

The attack comes in the run-up to presidential elections Sept. twenty in which Megawati is trailing badly in the polls behind her former safety minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Terrorism is hardly ever pointed out by both candidate, the two of whom are secular nationalists. Analysts say the bombing may advantage the challenger, who is observed as relatively tougher on protection.

Regional security advisor Bob Broadfoot said the militants wanted to make clear that they were ready to carry out attacks.

"Governments in the area have done a rather good job of restricting terrorist groups but that doesn't mean that they have extinguished the dilemma," he said. "That is what we noticed today."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/2004/09/09/jemaah-islamiyah-claims-jakarta-attack.html