By Angela Marie Watkins
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Six people were killed in nearly simultaneous explosions at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and the Marriott Hotel in central Jakarta on Friday, Indonesian police said.

The explosions rocked the Indonesian capital around 8 a.m., blowing out windows, and scattering debris on to surrounding streets.

According to witnesses, Marriott blast was the first followed by one directly across the road at the Ritz-Carlton.

Police are yet to confirm if the blasts were caused by bombs and there were no immediate claims of responsibility, but the sequence of the explosions bears the hallmarks of similar al-Qaeda attacks.

Jemaah Islamiyah, a militant Islamic organization, has been blamed for a series of attacks between 2002 and 2005 that killed more than 240 people, most of them foreign tourists on the island of Bali. The group was blamed for a previous blast at the Jakarta Marriott in 2003 that killed 13 people.

There have not been any major bomb blasts in Indonesia for several years, and this month the country’s presidential election passed off peacefully. Despite allegations of electoral fraud by Yudhoyono’s opponents, independent observers declared the election largely free and fair.

After the explosions, the Indonesian rupiah fell 0.7 percent to 10,200 per dollar, prompting state banks to sell dollars to support the currency, traders said. The stock market has not opened yet.

For more information, please see:
The Associated Press – AP News Alert – 17 July 2009

Bloomberg –  Indonesia Says Explosions Hit Jakarta Ritz, Marriott – 17 July 2009

Fox News – 6 Dead, 29 Injured in Bomb Explosions at Hotels in Indonesia – 17 July 2009

Reuters – Six killed in central Jakarta hotel blasts: police – 17 July 2009