Jakarta blast linked with Bali

There have been warnings that more attacks can be expected

The explosives and methods used to bomb a luxury hotel in Jakarta on Tuesday were similar to those used in the Bali bombing last year, Indonesian police say.

Investigators sifting through debris for clues about the blast, which killed 14 people and injured about 150, say a similar cocktail of high and low grade explosives were used in Bali.

The BBC's correspondent in Jakarta, David Bottomley, says that immediately after the attack on the Marriott Hotel suspicion fell on Jemaah Islamiah (JI) - an Islamic militant group blamed for the Bali bombs.

Police say documents found in the possession of JI members arrested last month indicated an attack in the area around the hotel was imminent and police patrols were stepped up.

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Indonesia's top detective, Erwin Mappaseng, said traces of black powder, potassium chloride and TNT - all used in the Bali bombing - were found at the Jakarta bomb site.

"From the modus, the materials and others, there are similarities," he said.

The hotel is well-known as a place where foreigners and visiting diplomats stay.

An adjacent building houses the embassies of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

The attack came just two days before the expected verdict in the trial of a key Bali suspect, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim.

New warnings

Security has been tight in Indonesia since the Bali bombings, which killed 202 people, and authorities have warned of similar threats.

Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has warned that new intelligence indicates there could be more terrorist attacks in the city and Indonesia as a whole in coming days.

In pictures: Bomb aftermath

"We think there is a real risk that there could be further attacks. We have particular concerns at the moment about central Jakarta and also other places in Indonesia," he said.

Urging its citizens to exercise caution, the Australian Government has re-issued its travel warning against all non-essential travel to Indonesia.

The blast came during a busy lunchtime in the commercial part of city.

Police say the bomb is thought to have been inside a Toyota van parked outside the lobby of the hotel.

Mr Mappaseng said that a body had been found in the van and that police had now drawn up sketches of the person based on their remains as well as the last known buyer of the vehicle.

Terror crackdown

The lower floors of the hotel were gutted and the windows above were blown out, right up to the 21st floor.

A Dutch citizen was killed in the blast - Hans Winkelmolen, 49, president of PT Rabobank Duta Indonesia, a subsidiary of the Dutch co-operative bank Rabobank.

Forensic teams have been searching the debris for evidence

He had been in Jakarta since 2000 and was preparing to follow his family back home to the Netherlands later in August.

Many organisations in the country are already beefing up their security measures in response to Tuesday's attack.

Hotels and offices have tightened their search procedures and there are many more security staff on duty.

Foreign assistance

The United States and Australia, both of which played a key role in assisting the police in investigating the Bali bombing last October, have offered their expertise.

"We will be willing to help in any way the Indonesians want to track down the people responsible and bring them to justice," Australian Prime Minister John Howard said.

Finance ministers from Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) meeting in the Philippines on Wednesday called on the region to adopt a firm stance against terrorism.

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who recently vowed to destroy terror networks in the world's largest Muslim nation, visited the scene of the attack late on Tuesday.

One of Indonesia's most influential Muslim clerics, Ahmad Syafii Maarif, called for tough action against the bombers - but added that hard evidence was needed before blaming Muslim militants.

Correspondents say the government intends to take tough new security measures in the wake of the bombing.

The BBC's Tim Johnston, in Jakarta, says a warning by the administration's top security official, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, seems to imply that the measures might entail a further curtailment of human rights.