Jakarta, July 14: A bomb shattered glass panels at Indonesia's National Parliament today, just days after the arrest of Jemaah Islamiyah terror suspects who were said to be planning attacks. Jakarta City police chief Makbul Padmanegara said he could not yet say what type of bomb was used in the blast, which caused no injuries. "I need time to carry out further laboratory research," he told reporters.
He said the motive and the culprits were not yet clear. Last Friday police seized huge quantities of explosives and announced the arrest of nine suspects of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) regional network blamed for the Bali bombings last year.
The suspects were said to be planning further attacks and national police chief Dai Bachtiar had urged city residents to be on alert. Central Jakarta Police chief Sukrawardi said today's bomb was similar to one which exploded on April 24 behind the United Nations headquarters in the city centre and which also caused no injuries.
"This bomb was assembled with black packing tape, precisely the same as the one on Wahid Hasyim Street. But there's no definite conclusion yet. A different assumption could emerge later," Sukrawardi said.
He said today's bomb at Parliament, which was in recess, almost certainly had a timer.
Police said Friday 25 sacks of potassium chlorate were seized from four of the JI suspects who were arrested, along with several shoulder-launched rockets. Bureau Report