http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 639922.stm
Massive blast at Jakarta embassy
The assumption is that the explosion was a car bomb
Six people are believed to have died in a massive blast outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, the Australian prime minister has said.
John Howard said it was thought the explosion was a car bomb.
The BBC's Rachel Harvey in Jakarta says the blast left a large crater in the ground and damaged nearby buildings and motor vehicles.
Helicopters, ambulances and police units are at the site, in Kuningen, a district to the south of the city.
Witnesses and reporters say they saw at least three bodies lying lifeless after the blast, which happened at about 1030 local time (0330 GMT).
Mr Howard told a news conference in Melbourne "the number of fatalities could be six. We can not at this stage be certain, but the evidence today indicates that it was a car bomb."
Local radio reports scores injured.
Our correspondent says there has been no word from Indonesian authorities on the blast yet, but the assumption is that it was a bomb.
She says the embassy itself is well protected by a security fence, and reports from inside suggest it did not sustain a lot of damage.
A huge crowd of onlookers has massed, and plumes of smoke are rising into the air above the site of the blast.
Bloody history
Our correspondent says Western embassies recently raised their security alerts, saying that they had credible intelligence that an attack on the Indonesian capital was planned.
It looks now as though their worst fears may have been realised, she says.
In August 2003, 12 people including the suicide bomber died in a bomb blast outside Jakarta's Marriott hotel - close to the spot of Thursday's explosion.
In October 2002, 202 people died in twin bombings on the island of Bali. Most of the dead were Australian.
The militant Islamic group Jemaah Islamiah is widely blamed for both bombings, and our correspondent says it is likely to be the primary suspect behind this suspected attack.
The blast also comes ahead of presidential elections on 20 September.
Wow, that sounds vaguely familiar....
