Jakarta hotel blasts toll now said to be 12, Malaysia tightens security(Lead:Jakarta blasts)

Jakarta, July 17 (ANI): Latest reports in Indonesian capital Jakarta say that the death toll in two bomb blasts at luxury hotels on Friday has gone up from nine to twelve, while the injured list is still pegged at 50.

A foreign news agency also reported that police in neighbouring Malaysia have stepped up security in major hotels and shopping malls across the country in the wake of the bombings.

It quoted the country's police chief, Musa Hassan, as saying that he had already issued orders for an immediate increase in security measures nationwide as a precaution.

Indonesian Police said one explosion hit the Ritz-Carlton, ripping off its facade, and the other the Marriott Hotel.

A third blast went off almost three hours later in the north of the city - no injuries have yet been reported.

It is not yet known who carried out the bomb attacks. The blasts occurred at about 7:30 a.m. local time

Ambulances are on the scene and there is a heavy police presence, says our correspondent.

Unconfirmed reports say a New Zealander and a South Korean were injured.

Consular staff are trying to track their nationals, and Australia issued a warning against unnecessary travel to Indonesia.

The Manchester United football team was due to arrive in Indonesia on Saturday and was booked to stay at the Ritz-Carlton. The blasts may raise doubts about the team's tour, PA news agency reported.

The two hotels are in Jakarta's central business district, the BBC reports.

The explosions come two weeks after peaceful presidential elections in Indonesia, which were won by incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Officials say they have no idea what caused the latest explosions.

Church bombings in 2000 killed 19 people. Bomb attacks on two nightclubs in Bali in October 2002 killed 202 people, most of them Australian.

The Marriott Hotel was the target of a bomb attack in August 2003 in which 13 people were killed. A bomb outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta in 2004 killed nine people.

Since then, a combination of new laws, anti-terror training, international cooperation and reintegration measures have kept Indonesia peaceful. (ANI)