2003 Marriott Hotel bombing
Encyclopedia
The 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing occurred on 5 August 2003 in Mega Kuningan, South Jakarta
, Indonesia
. A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb
outside the lobby of the JW Marriott Hotel
, killing twelve people and injuring 150. All those killed were Indonesian with the exception of one Dutch businessman, one Danish, and two Chinese tourists. The hotel was viewed as a Western
symbol, and had been used by the United States embassy
for various events. The hotel was closed for five weeks and reopened to the public on 8 September.
that two carloads of bomb-making materials were heading to the capital, Jakarta
. During the raid, the police also discovered some drawings outlining specific areas in the city for possible attacks.
, bought on July 20, 2003, from a Jakarta
businessman for 25.75 million rupiah was loaded with explosives and driven through the taxi stand in front of the Marriott Hotel. The vehicle stopped briefly in front of the lobby and CCTV cameras show a security guard approaching the vehicle, briefly speaking to the driver. The security guard then turns and a detonation can be seen. It is still not clear if the explosion was accidental, set off by remote detonation or a timer exploding prematurely. If the vehicle had kept a course heading straight for the lobby the damage would undoubtedly have been more severe. The blast radius was visible along the shattered windows of nearby buildings. According to Indonesian police, one of the ingredients in the car bomb contained the same chemical used in the deadly 2002 Bali bombing
. The bombs in both cases were made of the same mixture of explosives, mobile phones were used as detonators, and the attackers had tried to scrape off the identification numbers from the vehicle bombs.
The severed head of Asmar Latin Sani
, aged 28, and from West Sumatra
, was later found on the fifth floor of the building, The head was identified by two jailed members of the Jemaah Islamiah group who said they had recruited him.
Investigators uncovered the charred remains of a battery used to power the bomb and said it was similar to the ones used in a series of bombings against Christian
churches on Christmas Eve
2000, in which 19 people were killed.
The attack came two days before a verdict in the trial of the Bali nightclub bombers. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack and the perpetrators are known to have trained in al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan
and Pakistan
.
claimed responsibility, via the Arab
media Al Jazeera
, and singled out Australia
for special attention. The statement said
Jemaah Islamiyah
(JI), an organisation affiliated with al-Qaeda
, is alleged to have carried out the bombing. The al-Qaeda link has been backed by Indonesia's Minister of Defense, Matori Abdul Djalil who said the Marriott bombers had trained with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan
and Pakistan
. "Each one of them has special abilities received from training in Afghanistan and Pakistan," Matori Abdul Djalil said on August 11, 2003. He also claimed that the bombers were linked to a group of people arrested in the eastern Indonesian town of Semarang
during July 2004 and are alleged to be members of Jemaah Islamiah.
"There are many more Jemaah Islamiah members on the loose in Indonesia ... Because of this I am sure that JI is behind all of this,"
On May 5, 2006 the International Crisis Group
released its "Asia Report No 114" entitled Terrorism in Indonesia. It described the events leading up the attack;
The trigger for the Marriott bombing came in December 2002, when Indonesian police stepped up the hunt for Jemaah Islamiah members while investigating the 2002 Bali bombings. Toni Togar, a JI member based in Medan
, North Sumatra
, was nervous, because his house stored all the explosives left over from JI's 2000 Christmas Eve bombings. He contacted Noordin Mohammed Top
to tell him he was going to throw them out. Noordin previously was part of the team that carried out the Christmas Eve bombings which was led by Hambali and included Imam Samudra and many of the other 2002 Bali bombers
. He told Togar to hold on as he "saw good materials being wasted".
Abu Bakar Bashir
approved of Hambali's activities, and Toni Togar was selected to take part in the new bombing plot. Hambali had already set a precedent for a secret team pursuing jihad
on its own. This was in part because he controlled the separate funding from al-Qaeda
. In January 2003, Muhammad Rais
, Noordin and Azahari Husin
moved to Bengkulu
, where a group of JI members lived, including Asmar Latin Sani
, who became the Marriott suicide bomber. The next stages of the operation took place in February 2003 when the explosives were transported from Dumai
to Bengkulu via Pekanbaru
,
Azahari secured the detonators with a new team member, Masrizal bin Ali Umar. also known as Tohir, another Pondok Ngruki graduate and a Luqmanul Hakiem teacher who was a close friend of Rais. After the explosives safely reached Bengkulu as unaccompanied baggage on an intercity bus, they were stored at the house of Sardona Siliwangi, another Ngruki student and JI member. At the time, Sardona, who was working with Asmar Latin Sani, opened a bank account in March 2003 to facilitate financial transactions for Noordin.
In late April 2003, Mohamed Ihsan also known as Gembrot and Idris
, who was involved in the 2000 Christmas Eve bombings transported the explosives again. In May, he and Toni Togar, robbed a bank in Medan
on 6 May to raise funds for the project. "Ismail", a Luqmanul Hakiem student who had previously worked with Rais and Noordin in the shock absorber repair shop in Bukittinggi
, then received an email from Noordin asking him to pick up some packages from a man in Dumai
. Ismail obliged, and the package turned out to be cash in Australian dollars, sent by Hambali via a courier.
A book that appears based in part on transcripts of Hambali's interrogation says Hambali arranged for A$25,000 to be sent: A$15,000 for operational expenses, A$10,000 for Bali bomber families. Conboy, op. cit., p. 229. Hambali's younger brother, Rusman Gunawan
, who was arrested in Karachi
in September 2003, testified Hambali had secured a promise of A$50,000 from an Noordin on how to bring the cash from Dumai to Lampung
.
On 4 June 2003, in Lampung, the final team was put together: Noordin, Azhari, Ismail, Asmar Latin Sani, and Tohir. Noordin assigned the tasks and explained that he was in charge, Azhari was field commander and Ismail his assistant. Asmar and Tohir would be in charge of renting the house, buying the vehicles and getting the explosives to Jakarta
. Asmar had agreed to be the suicide bomber. When they got to Jakarta, they split into two teams to survey four possible targets. Azhari and Ismail examined the Marriott
and a Citibank
branch; Noordin and Tohir looked at the Jakarta International School
and the Australian International School. Eventually they decided on the hotel because of the American
brand name and the fact that it was easy to reach. The bombing took place on 5 August.
They all drove back to Blitar
with 25 kilograms of potassium chlorate
and ten kilos of sulfur
for bomb making, as well as a pistol and ammunition. Not long afterwards, another operative delivered 30 extra kilograms of TNT.
Around this time a pamphlet was circulating in jihadist groups that was a translation from Arabic into Indonesian of an article that first appeared in the al-Qaeda
on-line magazine Sawt al-Jihad. Entitled "You Don't Need to Go to Iraq for Jihad", it was written in 2003 by a Saudi jihadist, Muhammad bin Ahmad as-Salim.
, the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence
in the United States
, believes that the 2002 Bali bombing, and the Marriott Hotel bombing were financed by smuggling $30,000 in cash for each attack from al-Qaeda to allied terrorists in Asia. By contrast, the 9/11 Commission
estimated the September 11, 2001 attacks
cost between $400,000 and $500,000 over two years—at least some of which was deposited in foreign accounts and accessed by the plotters in the USA.
The Vice President of the United States
Dick Cheney
said;
It was the simultaneous presence at al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan by militants from across South East Asia that facilitated many of the personal relationships that exist between JI and members of other violent Islamist groups. These include the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
, a secessionist movement fighting for a Muslim
homeland in the southern Philippines
, as well as several other Indonesia
n, Malaysian and Thai
groups. The weight of evidence suggests that although some JI personnel might be inspired by the larger global mystique of figures such as Osama bin Laden, the South East Asian group remains operationally and organisationally distinct.
The main Jakarta stock-market index tumbled 3.1 percent after the attack and its currency, the rupiah, lost as much as 2 percent of its value against the US dollar.
Australia
issued a warning for its citizens to avoid all international hotels in Jakarta after intelligence found the capital could be under the threat of further attacks. This warning is still in effect.
South Jakarta
South Jakarta is a city within Jakarta Special District, Indonesia. It had a population of 2,057,080 at the 2010 Census, and is the third most populous among the five cities of Jakarta, after East Jakarta and West Jakarta...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb
Car bomb
A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
outside the lobby of the JW Marriott Hotel
JW Marriott Hotel Jakarta
The JW Marriott Hotel Jakarta is a 5 star hotel in Mega Kuningan, South Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia.-History:It was bombed twice in 2003 and on 17 July 2009 by Islamic terrorists. In 2003, a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb outside the lobby of the JW Marriott Hotel, killing twelve people and...
, killing twelve people and injuring 150. All those killed were Indonesian with the exception of one Dutch businessman, one Danish, and two Chinese tourists. The hotel was viewed as a Western
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
symbol, and had been used by the United States embassy
American diplomatic missions
This is a list of diplomatic missions of the United States.-History:Morocco, in December 1777, became the first nation to recognize the United States and together they maintain the United States' longest unbroken treaty.Benjamin Franklin established the first overseas mission of the United States...
for various events. The hotel was closed for five weeks and reopened to the public on 8 September.
Prelude
Two weeks prior to the bombing, there was a tip call to senior Indonesian police officers from a militant captured during a raid in SemarangSemarang
- Economy :The western part of the city is home to many industrial parks and factories. The port of Semarang is located on the north coast and it is the main shipping port for the province of Central Java. Many small manufacturers are located in Semarang, producing goods such as textiles,...
that two carloads of bomb-making materials were heading to the capital, Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
. During the raid, the police also discovered some drawings outlining specific areas in the city for possible attacks.
The explosion
A Toyota KijangToyota Kijang
The Kijang is a pick-up or minibus sold in Indonesia and Brunei, made by Toyota. "Kijang", meaning deer/muntjac in Indonesian, was first introduced in Indonesia in 1977 and it has become the most popular car in the country ever since...
, bought on July 20, 2003, from a Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
businessman for 25.75 million rupiah was loaded with explosives and driven through the taxi stand in front of the Marriott Hotel. The vehicle stopped briefly in front of the lobby and CCTV cameras show a security guard approaching the vehicle, briefly speaking to the driver. The security guard then turns and a detonation can be seen. It is still not clear if the explosion was accidental, set off by remote detonation or a timer exploding prematurely. If the vehicle had kept a course heading straight for the lobby the damage would undoubtedly have been more severe. The blast radius was visible along the shattered windows of nearby buildings. According to Indonesian police, one of the ingredients in the car bomb contained the same chemical used in the deadly 2002 Bali bombing
2002 Bali bombing
The 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack was claimed as the deadliest act of terrorism in the history of Indonesia according to the current police general, killing 202 people,...
. The bombs in both cases were made of the same mixture of explosives, mobile phones were used as detonators, and the attackers had tried to scrape off the identification numbers from the vehicle bombs.
The severed head of Asmar Latin Sani
Asmar Latin Sani
Asmar Latin Sani, from West Sumatra, was the suicide bomber who detonated the car bomb in the August 5 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing. His severed head was later found on the fifth floor of the building....
, aged 28, and from West Sumatra
West Sumatra
West Sumatra is a province of Indonesia. It lies on the west coast of the island Sumatra. It borders the provinces of North Sumatra to the north, Riau and Jambi to the east, and Bengkulu to the southeast. It includes the Mentawai Islands off the coast...
, was later found on the fifth floor of the building, The head was identified by two jailed members of the Jemaah Islamiah group who said they had recruited him.
Investigators uncovered the charred remains of a battery used to power the bomb and said it was similar to the ones used in a series of bombings against Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
churches on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
2000, in which 19 people were killed.
The attack came two days before a verdict in the trial of the Bali nightclub bombers. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack and the perpetrators are known to have trained in al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Investigation
Six days after the atrocity on August 11 al-QaedaAl-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
claimed responsibility, via the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
media Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
, and singled out Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
for special attention. The statement said
Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiah , is a Southeast Asian militant Islamic organization dedicated to the establishment of a Daulah Islamiyah in Southeast Asia incorporating Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Philippines, Singapore and Brunei...
(JI), an organisation affiliated with al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
, is alleged to have carried out the bombing. The al-Qaeda link has been backed by Indonesia's Minister of Defense, Matori Abdul Djalil who said the Marriott bombers had trained with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. "Each one of them has special abilities received from training in Afghanistan and Pakistan," Matori Abdul Djalil said on August 11, 2003. He also claimed that the bombers were linked to a group of people arrested in the eastern Indonesian town of Semarang
Semarang
- Economy :The western part of the city is home to many industrial parks and factories. The port of Semarang is located on the north coast and it is the main shipping port for the province of Central Java. Many small manufacturers are located in Semarang, producing goods such as textiles,...
during July 2004 and are alleged to be members of Jemaah Islamiah.
"There are many more Jemaah Islamiah members on the loose in Indonesia ... Because of this I am sure that JI is behind all of this,"
On May 5, 2006 the International Crisis Group
International Crisis Group
The International Crisis Group is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization whose mission is to prevent and resolve deadly conflicts around the world through field-based analyses and high-level advocacy.-History:...
released its "Asia Report No 114" entitled Terrorism in Indonesia. It described the events leading up the attack;
The trigger for the Marriott bombing came in December 2002, when Indonesian police stepped up the hunt for Jemaah Islamiah members while investigating the 2002 Bali bombings. Toni Togar, a JI member based in Medan
Medan
- Demography :The city is Indonesia's fourth most populous after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, and Indonesia's largest city outside of Java island. Much of the population lies outside its city limits, especially in Deli Serdang....
, North Sumatra
North Sumatra
North Sumatra is a province of Indonesia on the Sumatra island. Its capital is Medan. It is the most populous Indonesian province outside of Java. It is slightly larger than Sri Lanka in area.- Geography and population :...
, was nervous, because his house stored all the explosives left over from JI's 2000 Christmas Eve bombings. He contacted Noordin Mohammed Top
Noordin Mohammed Top
Noordin Mohammad Top , of Malaysian citizenship, was a Muslim extremist, also referred to as Din Moch Top, Muh Top, or Mat Top, was Indonesia's most wanted Islamist militant....
to tell him he was going to throw them out. Noordin previously was part of the team that carried out the Christmas Eve bombings which was led by Hambali and included Imam Samudra and many of the other 2002 Bali bombers
2002 Bali bombing
The 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack was claimed as the deadliest act of terrorism in the history of Indonesia according to the current police general, killing 202 people,...
. He told Togar to hold on as he "saw good materials being wasted".
Abu Bakar Bashir
Abu Bakar Bashir
Abu Bakar Bashir Abu Bakar Bashir Abu Bakar Bashir (also Abubakar Ba'asyir, Abdus Somad, and Ustad Abu ("Teacher Abu"), born 17 August 1938, is an Indonesian Muslim cleric and leader of the Indonesian Mujahedeen Council (MMI)....
approved of Hambali's activities, and Toni Togar was selected to take part in the new bombing plot. Hambali had already set a precedent for a secret team pursuing jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
on its own. This was in part because he controlled the separate funding from al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
. In January 2003, Muhammad Rais
Muhammad Rais
Muhammad Rais is an Indonesian convicted in May 2004 for involvement in the August 5 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing, which killed 12 people and wounded over 150. He is a member of Jemaah Islamiah and the brother-in-law of Noordin Mohammed Top...
, Noordin and Azahari Husin
Azahari Husin
Dr. Azahari bin Husin was a Malaysian who was believed to be the technical mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombing. He was killed in a police raid on his hideout in Indonesia in 2005. He was nicknamed the "Demolition Man".-History:He received extensive bomb training in Afghanistan...
moved to Bengkulu
Bengkulu
Bengkulu is a province of Indonesia. It is on the southwest coast of the island of Sumatra, and borders the provinces of West Sumatra, Jambi, South Sumatra and Lampung. The capital and largest city is Bengkulu city. It was formerly the site of a British garrison, which they called Bencoolen...
, where a group of JI members lived, including Asmar Latin Sani
Asmar Latin Sani
Asmar Latin Sani, from West Sumatra, was the suicide bomber who detonated the car bomb in the August 5 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing. His severed head was later found on the fifth floor of the building....
, who became the Marriott suicide bomber. The next stages of the operation took place in February 2003 when the explosives were transported from Dumai
Dumai
Dumai is a city in Riau province on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. The city has an area of 1727 km² and has 174,465 inhabitants . Dumai is an important transport and trade centre, both regionally and international ....
to Bengkulu via Pekanbaru
Pekanbaru
Pekanbaru is the capital of Riau, a province in Indonesia on the island of Sumatra. It has an area of 632.26 km² and a population of 903,902. Located on the Siak River, which drains to the Strait of Malacca...
,
Azahari secured the detonators with a new team member, Masrizal bin Ali Umar. also known as Tohir, another Pondok Ngruki graduate and a Luqmanul Hakiem teacher who was a close friend of Rais. After the explosives safely reached Bengkulu as unaccompanied baggage on an intercity bus, they were stored at the house of Sardona Siliwangi, another Ngruki student and JI member. At the time, Sardona, who was working with Asmar Latin Sani, opened a bank account in March 2003 to facilitate financial transactions for Noordin.
In late April 2003, Mohamed Ihsan also known as Gembrot and Idris
Joni Hendrawan
Joni Hendrawan, also known as Idris is an Indonesian, who after escaping conviction for his role in the 2002 Bali Bombing, was convicted for the 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing.-2002 Bali Bombing:...
, who was involved in the 2000 Christmas Eve bombings transported the explosives again. In May, he and Toni Togar, robbed a bank in Medan
Medan
- Demography :The city is Indonesia's fourth most populous after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, and Indonesia's largest city outside of Java island. Much of the population lies outside its city limits, especially in Deli Serdang....
on 6 May to raise funds for the project. "Ismail", a Luqmanul Hakiem student who had previously worked with Rais and Noordin in the shock absorber repair shop in Bukittinggi
Bukittinggi
Bukittinggi is one of the larger cities in West Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of over 91,000 people and an area of 25.24 km². It is situated in the Minangkabau highlands, 90 km by road from the West Sumatran capital city of Padang. It is located at , near the volcanoes Mount...
, then received an email from Noordin asking him to pick up some packages from a man in Dumai
Dumai
Dumai is a city in Riau province on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. The city has an area of 1727 km² and has 174,465 inhabitants . Dumai is an important transport and trade centre, both regionally and international ....
. Ismail obliged, and the package turned out to be cash in Australian dollars, sent by Hambali via a courier.
A book that appears based in part on transcripts of Hambali's interrogation says Hambali arranged for A$25,000 to be sent: A$15,000 for operational expenses, A$10,000 for Bali bomber families. Conboy, op. cit., p. 229. Hambali's younger brother, Rusman Gunawan
Rusman Gunawan
Rusman Gunawan, also known as Gun Gun, is an Indonesian jailed for "facilitating and aiding terrorism". He is the younger brother of the Jemaah Islamiah chief of operations, Hambali. Born in the West Java town of Cianjur, he moved to Pakistan to continue his religious studies at an Islamic school...
, who was arrested in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
in September 2003, testified Hambali had secured a promise of A$50,000 from an Noordin on how to bring the cash from Dumai to Lampung
Lampung
Lampung is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southern tip of the island of Sumatra and borders the provinces of Bengkulu and South Sumatra. Lampung is the original home of the Lampung people, who speak a distinct language from other people in Sumatra and have their own alphabet. Its...
.
On 4 June 2003, in Lampung, the final team was put together: Noordin, Azhari, Ismail, Asmar Latin Sani, and Tohir. Noordin assigned the tasks and explained that he was in charge, Azhari was field commander and Ismail his assistant. Asmar and Tohir would be in charge of renting the house, buying the vehicles and getting the explosives to Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
. Asmar had agreed to be the suicide bomber. When they got to Jakarta, they split into two teams to survey four possible targets. Azhari and Ismail examined the Marriott
Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. is a worldwide operator and franchisor of a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Founded by J. Willard Marriott, the company is now led by son J.W. Marriott, Jr...
and a Citibank
Citibank
Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...
branch; Noordin and Tohir looked at the Jakarta International School
Jakarta International School
Jakarta International School is a private, international school in Jakarta, Indonesia. It was established in 1951 for expatriate students living in Jakarta and is the largest international primary and secondary school in Indonesia....
and the Australian International School. Eventually they decided on the hotel because of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
brand name and the fact that it was easy to reach. The bombing took place on 5 August.
They all drove back to Blitar
Blitar
Blitar is a city which is the capital of a regency with the same name in East Java, Indonesia, about 73 kilometers from Malang and 167 kilometers from Surabaya. The area lies within longitude 111° 40' - 112° 09' East and its latitude is 8° 06' South...
with 25 kilograms of potassium chlorate
Potassium chlorate
Potassium chlorate is a compound containing potassium, chlorine and oxygen atoms, with the molecular formula KClO3. In its pure form, it is a white crystalline substance. It is the most common chlorate in industrial use...
and ten kilos of sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
for bomb making, as well as a pistol and ammunition. Not long afterwards, another operative delivered 30 extra kilograms of TNT.
Around this time a pamphlet was circulating in jihadist groups that was a translation from Arabic into Indonesian of an article that first appeared in the al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
on-line magazine Sawt al-Jihad. Entitled "You Don't Need to Go to Iraq for Jihad", it was written in 2003 by a Saudi jihadist, Muhammad bin Ahmad as-Salim.
Suspects
- Hambali: Riduan Isamuddin, is being held at Guantanamo Bay detention camp, since his August 2002 arrest in ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. He is accused of masterminding the 2002 Bali Bombing2002 Bali bombingThe 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack was claimed as the deadliest act of terrorism in the history of Indonesia according to the current police general, killing 202 people,...
as well as the Marriott blast. According to interrogation reports, Hambali was undergoing plans to develop biological weapons, in particular AnthraxAnthraxAnthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
. Hambali, was al Qaeda's main connection in South East Asia, and was apparently trying to open an "Al Qaeda bio-weapons branch plant" in either Malaysia or IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. He told investigators he had been "working on an Al Qaeda Anthrax program in Kandahar," AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
- Azahari HusinAzahari HusinDr. Azahari bin Husin was a Malaysian who was believed to be the technical mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombing. He was killed in a police raid on his hideout in Indonesia in 2005. He was nicknamed the "Demolition Man".-History:He received extensive bomb training in Afghanistan...
, was also known as the "Demolition Man" because of his bomb-making skils, and used a mobile phoneMobile phoneA mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
to detonate the Marriott bomb and included ingredients similar to other Indonesian blasts. According to Indonesian policeIf Azahari did not make the bomb, then its creator was following his manual.
- Noordin Mohammed TopNoordin Mohammed TopNoordin Mohammad Top , of Malaysian citizenship, was a Muslim extremist, also referred to as Din Moch Top, Muh Top, or Mat Top, was Indonesia's most wanted Islamist militant....
was suspected of helping finance the Bali blast and helping build the Marriott bomb. This person is a Malaysian resident whose want to make Indonesian collapse.
- Muhammad RaisMuhammad RaisMuhammad Rais is an Indonesian convicted in May 2004 for involvement in the August 5 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing, which killed 12 people and wounded over 150. He is a member of Jemaah Islamiah and the brother-in-law of Noordin Mohammed Top...
was convicted in May 2004 of violating anti-terrorism laws in connection with the attack. Rais transported the explosives from various towns to JakartaJakartaJakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, where they were used in the bomb. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role. ""We saw the Marriott attack as a message from Osama bin Laden,"" Rais said at his trail.
- Rusman GunawanRusman GunawanRusman Gunawan, also known as Gun Gun, is an Indonesian jailed for "facilitating and aiding terrorism". He is the younger brother of the Jemaah Islamiah chief of operations, Hambali. Born in the West Java town of Cianjur, he moved to Pakistan to continue his religious studies at an Islamic school...
alias "Gun Gun" was sentenced in October 2004 to four years jail for facilitating and aiding terrorism. In particular he was found to have transferred the money (in Australian dollars) that was ultimately used to finance the Marriott bombing. He and six other Indonesian students were arrested during raids in PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. He trained at the Al Ghuraba training campAl Ghuraba training campAl Ghuraba training camp is an alleged al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan, near Kabul.-Alleged alumni:-References:...
in AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. In 2002 while he attended university in Pakistan, he took over as the "intermediary" for e-mailE-mailElectronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
messages between al-Qaeda and Hambali, who at the time was hiding in CambodiaCambodiaCambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
.
- Mohammed Nazir Bin LepMohammed Nazir Bin LepMohammed Nazir Bin Lep is a Malaysian affiliate or member of Jemaah Islamiyah and al-Qaeda, currently in American custody in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp...
is one of Hambali's key lieutenants. and like Hambali is being held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He allegedly transferred the al Qaeda funds used for the bombing and knew of Jemaah Islamiah plots to launch attacks elsewhere in South East Asia. The CIA claims he was to be a suicide bomber for a "second wave" of al Qaeda attacks targeting Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
- Gempur Angkoro, alias Jabir, is al-Ghozi's cousin and was one of Top's most trusted men; he, was killed in a raid on April 29. Jabir personally assembled the Marriott bomb, and the bombs used in the 2004 Jakarta embassy bombing2004 Jakarta embassy bombingThe 2004 Australian embassy bombing took place on 9 September 2004 in Jakarta, Indonesia.A one-tonne car bomb, which was packed into a small Daihatsu delivery van, exploded outside the Australian embassy at Kuningan District, South Jakarta, at about 10:30 local time , killing 9 people including...
. (Jakarta Post, May 2)
- Sardona Siliwangi, was the first person to be sentenced for the Marriott attack. He had been "legally and convincingly" proven guilty of an act of terrorism, during his trial in the town of BengkuluBengkuluBengkulu is a province of Indonesia. It is on the southwest coast of the island of Sumatra, and borders the provinces of West Sumatra, Jambi, South Sumatra and Lampung. The capital and largest city is Bengkulu city. It was formerly the site of a British garrison, which they called Bencoolen...
on the island of SumatraSumatraSumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, and sentenced to ten years in prison. Siliwangi had stored at his Bengkulu home, six cartons of explosives left by the suicide operative Asmar Latin SaniAsmar Latin SaniAsmar Latin Sani, from West Sumatra, was the suicide bomber who detonated the car bomb in the August 5 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing. His severed head was later found on the fifth floor of the building....
. The explosives were later moved to the South Sumatra town of Lubuk Linggau before being taken to JakartaJakartaJakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
on the island of JavaJavaJava is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
.
- Air Setyawan, Luthfi Haidaroh and Urwahr were all arrested in the Central JavaCentral JavaCentral Java is a province of Indonesia. The administrative capital is Semarang. It is one of six provinces on the island of Java.This province is the province of high Human Development in Indonesia and its Points Development Index countries is equivalent to Lebanon. The province of Central Java...
city of SurakartaSurakartaSurakarta, also called Solo or Sala, is a city in Central Java, Indonesia of more than 520,061 people with a population density of 11,811.5 people/km2. The 44 km2 city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and...
on July 26, 2004 by Indonesia's Detachment 88 anti-terrorist squad, which is trained and equipped by the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
- Yazid SufaatYazid SufaatThe Malaysian Yazid Sufaat was a member of the Islamist terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah from shortly after its foundation in 1993 until his arrest by Malaysian authorities on 9 December 2001....
Al-Qaeda connection
Stuart A. LeveyStuart A. Levey
Stuart A. Levey was the first Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence within the United States Department of the Treasury. He was sworn in on July 21, 2004 and served until March 2011. According to the Bush administration, Levey has played a central role in their efforts to combat...
, the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence
Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence
The Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence is a position within the United States Department of the Treasury responsible for directing the Treasury's efforts to cut the lines of financial support for terrorists, fight financial crime, enforce economic sanctions against rogue...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, believes that the 2002 Bali bombing, and the Marriott Hotel bombing were financed by smuggling $30,000 in cash for each attack from al-Qaeda to allied terrorists in Asia. By contrast, the 9/11 Commission
9/11 Commission
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks", including preparedness for and the immediate response to...
estimated the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
cost between $400,000 and $500,000 over two years—at least some of which was deposited in foreign accounts and accessed by the plotters in the USA.
The Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
said;
Hambali went to the training camps in Afghanistan that they ran back in the '90s, subsequently received funding from al Qaeda, went back then to Indonesia, and was behind some of the major attacks there. So you've got this sort of home-grown, but nonetheless affiliated, extremist operation going now in Indonesia. You'll find the same thing if you go to Morocco, where they had the attack in Casablanca; in Turkey, Istanbul, and so forth.
It was the simultaneous presence at al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan by militants from across South East Asia that facilitated many of the personal relationships that exist between JI and members of other violent Islamist groups. These include the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
Moro Islamic Liberation Front
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front is an Islamist group located in the southern Philippines. It is one of two Islamic militant groups, the other being the Abu Sayyaf, that are fighting against Government of the Philippines...
, a secessionist movement fighting for a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
homeland in the southern Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, as well as several other Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n, Malaysian and Thai
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
groups. The weight of evidence suggests that although some JI personnel might be inspired by the larger global mystique of figures such as Osama bin Laden, the South East Asian group remains operationally and organisationally distinct.
Effects
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
issued a warning for its citizens to avoid all international hotels in Jakarta after intelligence found the capital could be under the threat of further attacks. This warning is still in effect.
See also
- List of terrorist incidents
- 2002 Bali bombing2002 Bali bombingThe 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack was claimed as the deadliest act of terrorism in the history of Indonesia according to the current police general, killing 202 people,...
- 2004 Australian embassy bombing
- 2005 Bali bombings2005 Bali bombingsThe 2005 Bali bombings were a series of terrorist suicide bomb and a series of car bombs and attacks that occurred on October 1, 2005, in Bali, Indonesia. Bombs exploded at two sites in Jimbaran Beach Resort and in Kuta away, both in south Bali. The terrorist attack claimed the lives of 20 people...
- 2008 Marriott Hotel bombing (Islamabad, Pakistan)
- 2009 Jakarta hotel bombings
External links
- "Marriott blast suspects named", CNN
- "Marriott Hotel in Jakarta reopens", Xinhua
- "Terrorism in Indonesia: Noordins Networks", International Crisis GroupInternational Crisis GroupThe International Crisis Group is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization whose mission is to prevent and resolve deadly conflicts around the world through field-based analyses and high-level advocacy.-History:...
- "Combating JI in Indonesia" Ng Boon Yian
- Jemaah Islamiyah Shown to Have Significant Ties to al Qaeda
- Learning by Doing:Al Qaeda's Allies in Southeast Asia
- Terrorism Perpetrated and Terrorists Apprehended
- "US Vice President's Remarks"
- Terrorism in IndonesiaInternational Crisis GroupInternational Crisis GroupThe International Crisis Group is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization whose mission is to prevent and resolve deadly conflicts around the world through field-based analyses and high-level advocacy.-History:...
Asia Report 114 May 5, 2006