JAKARTA - AN EXPLOSION in the Muara Angke area of northern Jakarta on Friday was caused by a faulty car battery and not a bomb, the national police spokesman said.

'The explosion at Muara Angke was not a bomb. The explosion came from a pickup truck which had a faulty battery,' police spokesman Nanan Soekarna said, adding that a passenger in the vehicle had been killed.

Senior police had earlier said the explosion was caused by a car bomb.

The blast in the northern part of the city came less than three hours after two bombs rocked the luxury Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels in an upmarket area of downtown Jakarta, killing at least nine people and wounding nearly 50. -- AFP

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