US embassy house targeted in Jakarta
A hand grenade that killed a man when it exploded prematurely in the Indonesian capital today was to have been thrown at a house belonging to the US Embassy, the national police chief said.
The pre-dawn explosion occurred inside a car carrying four people in a residential area of central Jakarta. One person was killed, the driver was detained and two passengers got away, police and witnesses said.
“The grenade that exploded ... was planned to be thrown at an empty building belonging to the US Embassy, but it exploded inside the car,” national police chief Da’i Bachtiar told reporters.
Bachtiar said that the arrest of one suspect led police to the city of Bogor, 35 miles south of Jakarta, where more weapons and explosives were found during raids on two homes.
He said the cache included TNT, two pistols and 100 bullets.
The US Embassy was closed on September 10 for six days due to what US Ambassador Ralph Boyce called a “credible and specific threat” that he suggested was linked to the al-Qaida terrorist network.
Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim country. The government has been cooperating with the US-led war on terrorism and has come under fire from some radical groups that accuse it of being too close to Washington.
After today’s explosion, survivors in the car tried to flee the scene but residents chased after them, capturing the slightly injured driver and holding him until police arrived, police and witnesses said.
The explosion took place around 3.30am local time (8.30pm Irish time yesterday) in a residential area just away from a home belonging to the US Embassy, said city police chief Colonel Edmon Ilyas.
Embassy officials could not be immediately reached for comment. Police were interrogating the driver today and were trying to establish a motive. The two other passengers in the car got away, Colonel Ilyas said.
Police suspect the dead man, Ahmad Azis, was handling the grenade in the front seat of the car before it prematurely blew up.
After the blast, the car swerved and hit a concrete curb, witnesses said. There was no damage to any of the buildings in the area. The wrecked car was towed to the police headquarters for further investigation.
