Indonesia arrests 19 in recent book bomb and Church attacks

Indonesia arrests 19 in recent book bomb and Church attacks

2011-04-21 20:04:01 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- Police have arrested 19 people in connection to recent book bomb attacks in Indonesia, including Thursday's bomb attempt near a Catholic Church in the outskirts of the capital of Jakarta, officials said.

Indonesian National Police Chief General Timur Pradopo spoke at the State Palace, confirming that the suspicious package that had been found around 100 meters outside a Catholic Church in Tangerang, just west of Jakarta, was a bomb, the Jakarta Globe reported.

The package was placed in a gas pipeline,which could have caused a large explosion. After removing the explosive device, a bomb squad is currently trying to deactivate the explosive.

According to Indonesia’s National Counter-Terrorism Agency chief Ansyaad Mbai, the group behind the bomb attempt was also behind the Serpong bomb and the book bombs. In addition, police sources told the media outlet that the group had links to terror network Jemaah Islamiyah.

On March 15, a bomb parcel exploded in Utan Kayu, East Jakarta. The explosive device was sent to the local KBR 68H Radio News Agency and was addressed to the agency's chief Gories Mere. A policeman lost his hand while trying to defuse it.

Another explosive package was located at the National Narcotics Agency office in Jakarta. A police bomb squad managed to deactivate it before it exploded. A third one was sent to Ulil Abshar Abdalla, chairman of the Liberal Islam Network, in Utan Kayu. The device exploded while policemen were trying to defuse it; three police officers were severely injured.

An explosive device hidden in a hollowed out book was the fourth explosive, which was sent to the residence of music mogul Ahmad Dhani in Pondok Indah, south Jakarta. All four bombs were concealed in the same way.

A series of similar incidents were reported in the following weeks, including parcel bomb attempts against Muhammadiyah University Rector Masyitoh Chusnan and near the Center for Science and Technology Research in Tangerang. An explosion at a market in East Java killed a 16-year-old boy and critically injured another.

Since the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australian tourists, the country has been constantly fighting terrorist cells.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-04-21