Police investigating the bombing of a luxury hotel in the Indonesian capital said this morning the explosives and the methods had similarities to those used in last year's Bali nightclub blasts.
Yesterday's devastating car bomb attack, two days before the first Bali bomb trial verdict and after a spate of global terror warnings, killed up to 16 people in Jakarta's five-star, US-managed JW Marriott Hotel.
Singapore's Straits Timesreported that the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) militant Muslim group, widely blamed for the Bali bombings, had claimed responsibility for the latest blast.
The newspaper, which did not make clear how it had received the message, said "a JI operative" had described the attack as a "bloody warning" to Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri not to clamp down on militants.
"This is a message for her and all our enemies that, if they execute any of our Muslim brothers, we will continue this campaign of terror in Indonesia and the region," it quoted the JI operative saying.
Jakarta holds JI responsible for last October's Bali bombings, which killed 202, many of them Australian revellers in two nightclubs. Australian federal police have been working with local police on the Bali investigation, and more officers flew to Jakarta on Wednesday to help investigate the hotel bombing.
The blast was believed to have been triggered by a suicide bomber.
Chief Indonesian Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said a new approach to security in public places was needed to combat terror threats, the official Antara news agency reported.
"The government will impose these restrictions as we are determined to prevent the deaths of more victims. Their lives are worth more than the price of human rights," the Jakarta Post quoted Mr Yudhoyono as saying.