The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

At least seven were confirmed killed and over 180 injured in a bomb explosion outside the Australian Embassy on Thursday morning, just 11 days ahead of the country's presidential election. Officials said eight died and 182 were injured.

Police suspect a suicide car bomb as the cause of the explosion, located in the midst of one of the capital's prime business districts. But witnesses mentioned the presence of "two men on a motorcycle" seconds before the blast around 10:30 a.m. on Jl. Rasuna Said in South Jakarta.

The busy thoroughfare, which was quickly cordoned off, houses foreign firms, large banks and many other embassies, including those of Greece, Morocco, Russia and Malaysia.

"Sounds of thunder" were heard up to 5 kilometers away from the site and "glass windows trembled" at one West Jakarta hotel, a visitor said. Body parts "fell from trees", witnesses said.

Victims included embassy security guards, police and passersby as well as office workers in high-rise buildings, some more than 500 meters away. The Australian Embassy will be closed until further notice. Among the confirmed dead is an embassy gardener, Anton Sudjarwo.

The explosion left a one-meter deep, three-meter diameter crater and ripped through the embassy's iron fence, bringing to mind the craters following the explosions of the JW Marriott hotel last year and the Bali bomb in 2002.

The attack followed warnings issued by the United States and Australia over the past week, which said their citizens in Indonesia should stay away from foreign hotels and defer non- essential travel to Indonesia.

Bomb threats were also reported at other buildings and hotels in the city.

One of the buildings that suffered a lot of damage, with shattered windows reaching up to the top story, included the one across from the Australian Embassy -- the Plaza 89 office complex, which houses the Jakarta offices of mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia as well as the Greek Embassy. Many of the injured office workers suffered gashes and lacerations from broken windows.

Despite the fact that many foreigners work in the buildings surrounding the blast, no foreign fatalities were reported.

It was the third bomb attack in the capital this year after one exploded in Depok and another blew up inside the General Election Commission's office in Menteng.

At least four motorcycles, 10 cars, two buses and a police truck were badly damaged. Body parts were seen strewn all around immediately after the blast.

The police immediately linked the embassy bombing with the Marriott bombing on Aug. 5, 2003 and the Bali bombing on Oct. 12, 2002. Both had a similar modus operandi: A car bomb on a street next to a site with a large number of foreign citizens.

Like the Bali and Marriott bombings, police suspect that the driver of the vehicle was blown up, following the findings of nearly unrecognizable bodies near the site -- in this case a mangled torso. A police source said they suspected that two suicide bombers were involved. "We've already found the chassis of the car bomb," the source said.

However witnesses said two motorcyclists intentionally rammed their motorcycles into the wall of the embassy's security post.

"I saw two men on a motorcycle, (the driver) repeatedly revved it up just seconds before the explosion," a witness said.

Police were quick to name two men suspected as the masterminds -- the two Malaysian-born fugitives who are also prime suspects in the Bali and Marriott bombings -- Azahari bin Husin and Noordin M. Top, known for their expertise in rigging bombs.

Police have linked them with the United Nations-listed terrorist network Jamaah Islamiyah, which analysts believe is linked to al-Qaeda and mostly operates in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Thursday's tragedy is a test case to the newly installed 75 -member police antiterror squad, which was trained by officers from the United States.

Last week, Brig. Gen. Gorries Mere and Bali bombing convict Ali Imron were spotted having coffee at an upmarket cafe in Central Jakarta. Police claimed that the meeting was part of an investigation.

This latest terror act occurred at the precise moment that National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar was at the legislature discussing security conditions prior to the elections.

Scores of officials later arrived at the site to offer condolences, including both presidential candidates, Vice President Hamzah Haz and Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso.

Hassan Wirayuda, the foreign minister, said he would discuss antiterror cooperation with his Australian counterpart Alexander Downer, who arrived on Thursday along with nine forensics experts.