Bombed hotels reopen in Jakarta

“We have reviewed everything from the incident and made some adjustments but I can’t disclose what the changes are as they are confidential,” said Ina Ilmiaviatta, a spokeswoman for the Marriott hotel.

“We hope to be able to reach an average hotel occupancy of 60 to 70 per cent like before, in spite of the bombings,” she added.

Marriott International manages both hotels.

Suspect

Police say the fugitive leader of a JI faction is likely behind the two hotel bombings [AFP]

Indonesian police have not identified the perpetrators behind the attacks but suspect they could be the work of a splinter faction of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) group, headed by Malaysian-born fugitive Noordin Mohammed Top.

JI is a Southeast Asian group alleged to have links to the al-Qaeda network.

Earlier this week Indonesian police said that a woman detained in connection with the bombings had identified her husband as Noordin.

He is believed to have taken refuge in a Central Javanese village, marrying the woman and having two children with her.

A police raid on the village just days before the Jakarta attack found bomb-making materials buried in the yard of his home in Cilacap district.

Noordin, 44, allegedly masterminded a suicide truck bombing at the Marriott in 2003, as well as the 2004 suicide bombing of the Australian embassy in Jakarta and 2005 attacks on tourist restaurants in Bali.

Those attacks killed 42 people, mainly Indonesians, injured hundreds and triggered the biggest manhunt in the country’s history.