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Australia Warns of More Terrorist Attacks in Indonesia





By Phil Mercer
Sydney
20 July 2009

Australia has upgraded its travel advisory to Indonesia after the fatal hotel bombings in Jakarta. The Department of Foreign Affairs in Canberra warns Australians to reconsider their need to travel to Indonesia because of the possibility of further terrorist attacks.

Forensic investigators examine the ruins at the site of the bomb blast at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, 18 Jul 2009
Forensic investigators examine the ruins at the site of the bomb blast at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, 18 Jul 2009
The explosions at Jakarta's Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels killed nine people, including three Australians and a New Zealander.

The attacks have prompted the Australian government to warn its citizens to think twice before traveling to Indonesia.

The upgraded travel advisory warns that further acts of terrorism are possible.

In Canberra, officials say that Bali, a resort island popular with Australian tourists, remains vulnerable to attack.

David Mackney, a security expert in Jakarta, says Indonesia has responded quickly to this new threat.







"Security has been beefed up at the big hotels and also in the shopping malls," Mackney said. "I know that the police in Bali for instance have reported that they've gone on a higher alert and there is extra security at Bali airport and all the main tourist spots in Bali."

Security has been tightened across Indonesia, with 500 troops put on standby to support police in the capital, Jakarta.

No arrests have yet been made but investigators think the suicide bombings were part of a sophisticated plot.

Suspicion has fallen on fugitive Malaysian militant Noordin Mohammed Top. He is suspected of involvement in a series of attacks, including the twin blasts that killed more than 200 people died on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali in 2002.

Noordin is thought to have been a key figure in Jemaah Islamiah, a militant Islamic organization, but is now believed to lead a splinter group.

Relatives of the Australians killed in Friday's blasts have traveled to Indonesia to claim their bodies as the investigation continues.






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