Firefighters spray water at the Marriott Hotel where an explosion went off in Jakarta (AP)
Indonesia Blast Kills at Least 13 Story aired: Tuesday, August 05, 2003
According to a U.S. official on the scene, the bombing of the popular Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia has the hallmark of an attack by Jemaah Islamiyah, the militant group with links to Al Qaeda and the October 12 Bali nightclub bombings.
The car bomb killed at least 13 and injured 149, mostly Indonesians, although the hotel is adjacent to many embassies and foreign business in Jakarta, and recently hosted the Australian prime minister.
The explosion comes just two days before sentencing was expected in the case of a the man accused of planning and carrying out the Bali bombing and just four days after President Megawati Sukarnoputri pledged to fight the terrorist network responsible for a series of bombings in Indonesia.
Guests:
Zachary Abuza, professor of international relations at Simmons College in Boston.
