2009 Jakarta bombings

2009 Jakarta bombings
Location	Jakarta, Indonesia
Date	17 July 2009 07:47-07:57 WIB. (UTC+7)
Attack type	Suicide bombing
Deaths	7 plus 2 suicide bombers
Non-fatal injuries	53
Suspected perpetrator	Jemaah Islamiyah

At around 07:47 until 07:57 WIB (00:47-00:57 UTC) on 17 July 2009, the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia, were hit by separate bombings five minutes apart. Three of the seven victims who were killed were Australians, two from The Netherlands, and one each from New Zealand and Indonesia. More than 50 people were injured in the blasts. Both blasts were caused by suicide bombers, who checked into the hotels as paying guests several days earlier. The twin suicide bombings came four years after the last serious terrorist attack in Indonesia.

Since the 2002 Bali bombings, in which 202 were killed, Indonesia has stepped up attempts to crack down on terrorism. An anti-terrorism law was confirmed by the Indonesian legislature in 2003. The 2002 attack was carried out by Jemaah Islamiyah, an al-Qaeda- previously linked now linked to ISIS group seeking to unite Indonesia, Malaysia, and the southern Philippines under an Islamic state.

The Marriott had previously been suicide bombed in 2003.

The Marriott bombing occurred first and was followed five minutes later by the Ritz bombing. Police moved to seal off the surrounding area. At noon local time, an unexploded bomb was found in room 1808 of the Marriott, together with "bomb-making equipment".

The Ritz-Carlton explosion is thought to have originated in the Airlangga Restaurant on the second story, where people were eating breakfast. There was said to be glass everywhere. A part of the facade of the Ritz Carlton was blown away by the blast and windows had been blown out.

The Marriott bombing occurred during one of a series of periodic breakfast meetings of CEOs and other prominent (and predominantly expatriate) members of the Jakarta business community hosted by James Castle, president of AmCham Indonesia, a branch of the United States Chamber of Commerce in Jakarta. The Marriott bomb was detonated in a small breakfast room rented for the event, and not in the main restaurant. One witness said the lobby of the neighboring Plaza Mutiara building was destroyed in the explosion.