Australia issues Indonesia terror warning
Australia today warned that terrorist groups may be planning an attack on Westerners in the Indonesian city of Surabaya over the next few days.
Australia’s Foreign Ministry said it had “credible information that terrorist groups with a history of targeting Westerners and Western interests may be planning terrorist activity on or about 23 March in Surabaya, Indonesia”.
The ministry advised Australian not to travel to Surabaya and told those already there to stay indoors and exercise extreme caution.
The warning said to stay away from places frequented by foreigners like clubs, restaurants, bars, hotels, schools, fast food outlets, shopping centres, places of worship, public transport and any buildings associated with foreign interests.
Surabaya, on Indonesia’s main island of Java, has been the scene of street protests against the US-led military attacks on Iraq. Australia has contributed 2,000 troops to the war against Saddam Hussein.
The ministry did not say which group might be behind an attack.
The Australian government issued a general warning telling its citizens not to travel to Indonesia following the October 12 Bali bomb blasts last year that killed more than 200 people, including 89 Australians.
“We continue to advise Australians to defer non-essential travel to Indonesia including Bali,” the foreign ministry said.
