‘Good evening. This is Annabelle Gilbert with the news. The United States Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, was struck today by a bomb blast at just after one pm Eastern Australian time. The attack is believed to have been carried out by one or more suicide bombers.
‘Reports from the devastation are still sketchy, but indications are that around eighty people have been killed and a substantial number wounded. Around fifty people are still missing.
‘No Australians are reported to have been in the building at the time.
‘The US Embassy building suffered major structural damage in the attack and may have to be completely demolished.
‘The embassy had been in a general state of heightened alert over the past six months since the American Express and Citibank buildings in London were attacked in a coordinated assault.’
Annabelle Gilbert’s immaculately made-up features were replaced on TV screens by scenes of chaos at the bombed embassy. Indonesian soldiers joined police to remove injured people from the rubble. Wounded people wandered around dazed, their clothes torn and streaked with blood.
‘Authorities are mystified by how a person carrying explosives could have passed unnoticed through two checkpoints, both equipped with x-ray scanners. It’s believed the bomb or bombs were detonated somewhere deep inside the building, possibly the visa section.
‘Indonesian police who worked on the successful pursuit of the Bali bombers and the bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta have been called in to investigate this new attack, and American experts are rushing to the scene to join them.
‘So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, although al Qa’ida, Abu Sayyaf and Jamaah Islamiah, the groups responsible for other attacks throughout South East Asia, are currently the prime suspects.
‘Australian embassies and consulates throughout South East Asia are now on full alert.
‘In Canberra, Prime Minister Mr William Blight…’