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| | GEO World | | Jakarta hotels reopen after suicide bombings | Updated at: 1919 PST, Wednesday, July 29, 2009
 JAKARTA: The five-star hotels hit by suicide bombers in Indonesia's capital nearly two weeks ago reopened Wednesday with tighter security, officials said.
Attackers detonated explosives-laden luggage near the hotel lounges of the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton in Jakarta on July 17, killing themselves, seven victims and wounding more than 50 others.
The blasts blew out windows and caused serious damage to the hotels' ground floors, but the structures remained intact and repairs were almost complete Wednesday when they reopened.
The first terrorist bombings in Indonesia in nearly four years have prompted heightened security at the hotels, national police spokesman Nanan Sukarna said, without naming specific measures. Other potential targets where Westerners gather have also increased security.
Els Ramadhita, a spokeswoman for the Ritz-Carlton, provided no details about the reopening, saying only that guests were again checking in.
Police suspect the Southeast Asian terror network Jemaah Islamiyah is responsible for the blasts, but have yet to provided evidence or name suspects.
Sukarna said the investigation into the bombers is ongoing. Police are searching for a florist who did flower arrangements for both US-owned hotels. He resigned on the morning of the bombings and has not been seen since. They also are questioning the wife of Malaysian fugitive militant Noordin Mohammed Top.
Jemaah Islamiyah and its splinter factions were behind the killing of more than 240 people in four prior attacks in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation. Noordin allegedly planned the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings as well as attacks on the J.W. Marriott in 2003 and the Australian Embassy in 2004.
Those annual strikes cut deeply into the number of foreign visitors to Indonesia, particularly to the resort island of Bali. It is not yet clear if the latest bombings will take a similar toll on the tourism sector. |  |
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