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A car bomb exploded outside the Australian embassy at Kuningan district, Central Jakarta, at about 10:30 local time (03:30 UTC), killing several people and wounding over 140 others. Damage to the nearby Chinese embassy was also reported. Numerous office building surrounding the embassy were also damaged by the blast, injuring many workers inside, mostly by broken glass.
A dispute ensued as to how many civilians lost their lives after the explosion: local health authorities in Jakarta reported 9 deaths, compared to 11 deaths reported by Australian officials. Nonetheless, all Australians working at the embassy were reported alive. Among the victims killed were an embassy security guard, a visa applicant, an embassy gardener and a pedestrian.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard expressed his "utter dismay at this event" and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said "this was aimed at the Australian Embassy, there's no question of that" and that the investigators' "suspicions turn to Jemaah Islamiah".It is unclear whether the incident was intended to influence either of the two upcoming regional elections: the final stage of the Indonesian presidential elections scheduled for 20 September, or the Australian electionsLegislative elections were held in Australia on 9 October, 2004. The conservative Coalition of the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister John Howard, and the National Party of Australia led by Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson, won a fourth three-year te scheduled for 9 October.
Australian Opposition Leader Mark LathamMark William Latham (born 28 February 1961), Australian politician, is leader of the federal parliamentary Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition in Australia. He succeeded Simon Crean as leader in December 2003, defeating former leader Kim B said "The terrorists responsible for this attack are evil and barbaric and must be dealt with as harshly as possible and as quickly as possible" and committed the Labor PartyThe Australian Labor Party or ALP is Australia's oldest political party. It is so-named because of its origins in and close links to the trade union movement. While Australians normally spell Labour with an "-our" ending, in the name of the party it is sp's "full support to all efforts by the Australian and Indonesian governments to ensure that happens".
A grainy photograph of a white delivery van suspected of carrying the bomb and the attackers has been released by Indonesian police. Minister Downer has claimed that a mobile phone text message was sent to Indonesian authorities about 45 minutes before the bomb detonated, warning of attacks unless the leader of Jemaah Islamiah Abu Bakar BashirAbu Bakar Bashir (also Abubakar Ba'asyir (born August 1938) is an Indonesian Muslim cleric who is the alleged spiritual head of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a militant Islamic separatist group. Intelligence agencies have pointed to his supposed links with al-Qa was released and said that the warning was not delivered to the Australian Federal PoliceThe Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the police service of the federal (or Commonwealth) government of Australia. It acts in cooperation with the seven domestic police forces of the six Australian states and the Northern Territory. Its particular respon until several hours after the bombing. Indonesian police have denied receiving such a message. (Newsday)
This was the third recent major attack involving Australians or Australian targets in Indonesia, after the 2002 Bali terrorist bombing, and the 2003 J.W. Marriott Hotel bombing. The executors of that attack, Jemaah Islamiyah, were also head suspects for this bombing.
On November 24, Indonesian police arrested four suspects wanted for the bombing. Among them was Darmawan , a key lieutenant of fugitive Malaysian terrorists Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohammed Top , senior operatives of an al-Qaeda linked terror group, Jemaah Islamiyah.