Australia warns of possible terrorist attack on Hilton hotel

[BEER980]

Australia warns of possible terrorist attack on Hilton hotel in Indonesia
12-15-2004

Bay Ismoyo - (AFP)
SYDNEY (AFP) - The Australian government warned that it had received specific intelligence suggesting an imminent terrorist attack in Indonesia, possibly targeting a Hilton hotel. Indonesian authorities played down the statement by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, insisting there was no intelligence to back up the warning. "We have received credible new information suggesting terrorists are ready to carry out an attack shortly in Indonesia, possibly targeting a Hilton hotel," the Australian statement said.

The Hilton Hotel group's Indonesian hotels are in the capital Jakarta, the resort island of Bali where Islamic militants blew up two nightclubs packed with Westerners in 2002, and the eastern Javanese city of Surabaya. The Australian statement also said other targets could not be ruled out. Indonesian police said they had received no information about an attack on a Hilton or any other specific target, although government officials said there was always a danger since extremists blamed for previous strikes were still at large.

"We have not received any information on possible attacks, either at the Hilton hotel in particular or any other international-chain hotels," a national police spokesman Zainuri Lubis told AFP. A spokeswoman for Hilton in Jakarta said the company had not been told of any imminent danger and insisted it had adequate security. "We have not been warned by the national police of any possible terrorist threats. Instead we found out about the warnings from the Australian government from the media here," spokeswoman Shakira Tamayanti said.

Security staff guarding the hotel told AFP they had unofficially been warned by police of a possible threat. Indonesian police have been put on nationwide alert on orders from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ahead of Christmas amid fears of a repeat of deadly attacks by Muslim militants on Christians during the 2000 festive period. The Australian warning followed travel advice to Australians on Tuesday and to New Zealanders on Wednesday to avoid all non-essential travel to Indonesia, including Bali.

The bombings in the Bali nightclub district of Kuta in October 2002, blamed on the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah group, claimed 202 lives including 88 Australians. Twelve people died in a Jemaah Islamiyah attack on Jakarta's Marriott Hotel in August 2003, while 11 others died when the group bombed the Australian embassy in Jakarta on September 9 this year. Bomb attacks on 38 churches or priests, which killed 19 people on Christmas Eve 2000, were also blamed on Jemaah Islamiyah.

Malaysian Jemaah Islamiyah bomb-makers Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohammad Top -- accused of building the bombs used in the Bali, Marriott Hotel and embassy attacks -- have so far eluded an international dragnet. The Australian foreign affairs department said that in light of the new information, Australians in Jakarta and elsewhere in Indonesia should avoid all international hotels and other places where foreigners gather.

It also advised Australians to defer all non-essential travel to Indonesia.

"In the lead-up to the Christmas and New Year holiday period we continue to receive reports that terrorists in the region are planning attacks against a range of targets," the department said. "Terrorist attacks could occur at any time, anywhere in Indonesia and could be directed against any locations known to be frequented by foreigners."