Terrorist Warnings In Indonesia

[george]

Terrorist warnings in Indonesia

JAKARTA: -- Australia has warned of a possible terrorist attack against Western interests in Indonesia this weekend, and the US government issued a new security alert to its citizens for the country.

The advisory by the Australian government urged citizens against travelling to Indonesia, including the resort island of Bali, "due to the very high threat of terrorist attack".

"We continue to receive a stream of reporting indicating that terrorists are in the advanced stages of planning attacks in Indonesia against a range of targets, including places frequented by foreigners," it said.

"These reports include information about potentially heightened risk of attack on particular dates - recent reports suggest Sunday, April 2, 2006, (tomorrow) could be a potential date for attack but we emphasise that attacks could occur at any time, anywhere in Indonesia."

The dpa news agency reported this morning that the US Embassy in Jakarata has alerted its citizens, and said Westerners and Western interests in Indonesia remain under threat by terrorists.

"Recent reports suggest that Sunday April 2, 2006 could be one potential date for an attack; however, terrorist attacks can occur at any time, anywhere in Indonesia," the message said.

It warned especially of possible attacks on places where Americans and other Westerners live, congregate, shop or visit.

Western countries including Britain have issued frequent warnings about possible attacks in Indonesia.

Islamic militants and alleged members of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) regional terrorist group have been blamed for a string of deadly bombings in Indonesia.

Indonesia is the world's most-populous Moslem majority country.

--DPA/Bangkok Post 2006-04-01