REUTERS, Fri Jun 3, 2005 02:26 AM ET
U.S. warns of threat to attack hotels in Jakarta
JAKARTA (Reuters) - The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta warned Americans on Friday of a
threat to bomb lobbies of hotels in the city, less than a week after blasts killed 22
people in an Indonesian area marked by Muslim-Christian violence.
The U.S. embassy itself only reopened on Tuesday after closing for several days
following an unspecified security threat.
An embassy statement emailed to Americans in Indonesia on Friday said the
embassy had learned "there were plans by extremists to conduct bomb attacks
targeting the lobbies of hotels frequented by Westerners in Jakarta."
"The attacks were to occur circa noon on an unspecified date," the statement said,
adding that there was no additional information on timing or method of attack.
In recent years, Indonesia has suffered sporadic outbreaks of violence between
religious groups, as well as bombing attacks blamed on Jemaah Islamiah, a militant
Islamic group linked to al Qaeda.
The latter have included blasts at the Marriott Hotel and Australian embassy in
Jakarta, and an attack on nightclubs in Bali that killed 202 people.
The bombings on Saturday that killed 22 took place in Tentena, a Christian town in
eastern Sulawesi island.
Indonesian officials said the attack there bore the hallmarks of Jemaah Islamiah,
although private security experts said local radicals were more likely responsible.
About 85 percent of Indonesia's 220 million people are Muslim. But in some eastern
parts, Christian and Muslim populations are about equal.
The U.S. Embassy has issued a number of warnings to Americans about security in
Indonesia, even before the Bali bombing.
Among other things the warnings have advised Americans to avoid hotels, shopping
centers, nightclubs and housing areas popular with Westerners.
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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