Jakarta explosion ‘due to car bomb’
A car bomb is believed to be the cause of a massive explosion at a hotel in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.
Police chief General Da’i Bachtiar, stated that the police were currently examining a car at the centre of the explosion which has left at least 10 people dead.
The bomb was believed to have been concealed in a Toyota car parked outside the hotel.
The explosion at the American owned Marriott Hotel also injured at least 74 people when it destroyed five floors of the 33-story building and the hotel lobby.
It is believed that one foreigner is among the dead but the nationality of the person has not been released.
The explosion took place in a part of the city where many foreign businesses and embassies are based.
The explosion comes two days before the verdict in the trial of a key suspect of the Bali bombings, which killed 202 people last October, is expected to be delivered.
Security has increased substantially since the attack and both local and international authorities are warning that another terrorist attack could take place in Southeast Asia.
