Australian Embassy in Indonesia Bombed

[The Kernel]

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- A powerful car bomb has hit central Jakarta near the Australian Embassy, killing at least six people and wounding nearly 100.

The explosion -- which CNN Correspondent Maria Ressa said was "far larger" than a blast which killed 12 in the JW Marriot Hotel in the same district last year -- went off four meters (12 feet) away from the embassy's gate, leaving a crater three meters deep.

Most of the deaths occurred just outside the 6-meter (20-foot) high steel gate, which was mangled in Thursday morning's blast.

The explosion shattered nearly all the windows in seven surrounding high-rise buildings while offices several blocks away also suffered damage.

Witnesses said they saw a car drive past slowly and then explode. The blast was so strong it threw one body towards the center of a four-lane highway nearby, and body parts were strewn around the streets.

Hundreds of police tried to manage a chaotic scene as ambulances, fire trucks, wounded people and bystanders crowded amid the debris of burnt out cars and shattered windows.

Witnesses reported hearing the blast as far as 30 kilometers (18 miles) away, in the latest of a spate of attacks that has hit the world's fourth most populous nation.

Security officials told The Associated Press an Indonesian guard manning a post outside the gate was among those who died in the explosion, which struck at 10:15 a.m. (0315 GMT).

"The ground shook so hard I fell down. A huge column of white smoke rose up," said Joko Triyanto, a security guard, his arms bleeding from shrapnel wounds.

Three men wearing what appeared to be guard uniforms lay on the ground with bloodied faces, but seemed to be alive, Ressa reported.

The fortress-like Australian Embassy building is on Rasuna Said Road, one of central Jakarta's busiest roads, which is lined with office towers, embassies and hotels.

Video of the blast site showed rescue workers carrying out the injured on stretchers to a nearby hospital as helicopters circled overhead.

Police have cordoned off the area and sent in a bomb squad to search for more explosive devices.

A series of smaller blasts followed the major explosion and police set up checkpoints to keep people away from the area in case of further explosions.
Warnings issued

The Australian embassy has been evacuated, with Prime Minister John Howard saying all of the embassy's Australian staff have been accounted for, although some sustained minor injuries.

Several countries including the United States and Australia had warned their citizens about possible attacks by militants in recent weeks.

Australia is a close ally of the United States in its war on terror and it has never suffered a major terror attack on home soil.

But 88 Australians were among 202 killed in October 2002 in nightclub bombings on the resort island of Bali.

Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a militant group with ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network that is trying to set up a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia, has been linked to the Bali blast as well as the JW Marriot attack last year.

No one has claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack, but Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who plans to travel to Jakarta Friday, said initial suspicions fall on JI. (Full story)

The blast was "clearly a terrorist attack" aimed at Australia, local media reported Downer as saying.

Last Friday, Australia warned that "particular caution should be exercised in Jakarta, including the central business and embassy districts," and said that security at its embassy in the capital remained at a high level.

Australians have been warned to defer all non-essential travel to Indonesia.

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who was in neighboring Brunei Thursday to attend a royal wedding, cut short her stay and was returning to Jakarta, officials said.

Jakarta shares fell more than three percent on Thursday morning

Well fuck, this really sucks. First we have the terrible attacks in Russia and now this.

[The Kernel]

Ahh crap, sorry, I didn't notice the other thread on this subject. Please lock.

[Grand Admiral Thrawn]

Done.