WORLD: Suicide bomber on the 18th floor in Indonesian hotel

Nine people including foreign tourists were killed today in suicide bomb attacks on two hotels in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.

The explosions in the city's business district hit the Ritz-Carlton and the Marriott Hotels in the early hours, blowing out windows and scattering debris and glass across the street.

More than 50 people were injured in the attacks, which were carried out by suicide bombers staying at the Marriott, police said.

At least 18 foreigners were killed or injured, including a New Zealander who died and several Americans who were hurt. Britons are feared to be among the casualties.

The first bomb went off in the café of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel at 7.45am local time followed two minutes later by a bomb in the basement car park of the Marriott. The facades of both hotels were reduced to twisted metal.

Manchester United, who were due to check into the Ritz-Carlton tomorrow, today cancelled their trip. The team, including Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand, were due to start the Indonesian leg of their Far East tour. They had been booked into the hotel for four nights.

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: "We got the news as we landed and it is very disappointing. I have never been to Indonesia before and I know the Indonesian FA have worked very hard on this. It is terrible news but we have taken what I believe to be the right decision in terms of safeguarding our players."

Jakarta police chief Major-General Wahyono said the suspects of the Marriott bombing stayed on the 18th floor of the hotel where undetonated explosives were found after the twin explosions. "There were several perpetrators," he said. "They were disguised as guests."

He added a severed head of a suspected suicide bomber was found in the car park of the Marriott.

British businessman Geoffrey Head, who was staying at the Ritz-Carlton, said: "I looked out of the window — I could see down to ground level and I saw there was a lot of broken glass. I thought it was time to actually get out."

He added: "The surreal thing was going down in the elevator and walking through the lobby and looking across to my left and noticing the café was completely blown out."

Alex Asmasubrata, who was jogging nearby, said he walked into the Marriott before emergency services arrived and "there were bodies on the ground, one of them had no stomach," he said. "It was terrible." President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the attack was carried out by a "terrorist group" and vowed to arrest the perpetrators.

He said it was too early to say if the South-East Asian Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, blamed for past attacks in Indonesia, including a 2003 bombing at the Marriott, was responsible.

In October 2002, Indonesia suffered its worst terrorist atrocity when bomb attacks on two Bali nightclubs killed 202 people.