More police placed in embassies and hotels

More police placed in embassies and hotels

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Following the bombing in Tentena, Central Sulawesi, that killed
at least 20 people on Saturday, city police increased
security on Sunday in strategic places, including at embassies
and hotels.

Around 20 police officers armed with rifles, bulletproof vests
and helmets are guarding the U.S Embassy on Jl. Medan Merdeka
Selatan, Central Jakarta, while police trucks and water cannon
block the entrance to the embassy.

Intelligence information suggesting that a terrorist group
under the leadership of Malaysian fugitive Azahari bin Husin is
in possession of a map of the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta prompted
the closures of U.S. missions across the country indefinitely on
Thursday.

Tight security was also apparent at other embassies, including
the Australian Embassy on Jl. Rasuna Sahid, South Jakarta, and
with fewer security personnel, the Japanese Embassy on Jl.
Thamrin, Central Jakarta.

Security personnel also continue to conduct thorough checks on
vehicles entering hotels, malls and office buildings located on
main streets, including Jl. Thamrin, Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Rasuna
Sahid and Jl. Gatot Subroto.

City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said the police
anticipated a bomb attack in Jakarta following intelligence
analysis suggesting that the Tentena bombing may be connected to
bombing masterminds Azahari and Noordin Moh Top -- both
Malaysians -- and the police are thoroughly checking suspicious
vehicles and strategic buildings across the city.

"If the bombing was conducted by the two Malaysian fugitives
or their recruits, then we can't rule out the possibility that
they will target Jakarta also," he said.

He added that the police had actively tried to locate Azahari
and Noordin before another bomb attack occurred.

Azahari and Noordin are believed to have masterminded the 2002
Bali bombings that killed 202 people, the JW Marriott Hotel
attack, which claimed 12 lives in 2003, and the 2004 bombing
outside the Australian Embassy that killed 10 people.

Police said on Saturday that the style and impact of the bomb
attack in Tentena indicated the involvement of the two most
wanted Malaysians or at least their recruits.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said immediately
after the Tentena bombing that the blast could be a decoy and the
main target be another place.