Grenade explodes near U.S.-owned property<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto and Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Bogor<\/p>\n
A grenade exploded in the early hours of Monday morning in a
\nKijang van traveling close to U.S.-owned property here, killing
\none passenger and injuring the driver.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the police gave conflicting statements over the
\nblast.<\/p>\n
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said the grenade was
\nmeant to be tossed at an unoccupied house belonging to the U.S.
\nEmbassy but it prematurely exploded inside the car at 3:30 a.m.<\/p>\n
\"Four people inside the car planned to throw the grenade at
\nthe building, but the grenade went off prematurely,\" Da'i told
\nreporters.<\/p>\n
However, later in the same day, some other senior police
\nofficers added \"some clarifications\" to Da'i's statement.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara said it was
\ntoo early to say whether those in the van were targeting the U.S.
\nEmbassy house, located on Jl. Teluk Betung in Menteng, Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
\"It is as yet uncertain whether the U.S. Embassy house was the
\ntarget,\" Makbul said.<\/p>\n
Separately, National Police spokesman Comr. Gen. Saleh Saaf
\nagreed with Makbul's statement.<\/p>\n
The blast is the fifth explosion to have rocked the capital
\nthe year. Thus far, the police have as yet been unable to reveal
\nthe motives or groups behind these attacks.<\/p>\n
Monday's blast, which occurred less than one kilometer from
\nthe Hotel Indonesia traffic circle and the residence of the U.S.
\nAmbassador, killed Abdul Azis Jenis, 30 and slightly injured the
\nvan's driver, Yusuf, 28, in the abdomen. Yusuf was later seized
\nby residents in the neighborhood. Two other passengers on board,
\nidentified as Lili and Taita, managed to flee the scene.<\/p>\n
Right after the blast, the police, directed by Yusuf, went to
\nthe assailants' hideout in Gunung Putri, Bogor, not far from the
\nsouthern outskirts of Jakarta, and managed to recover two sticks
\nof TNT and 20 FN bullets from Azis' rented house in Griya Bukit
\nJaya, Tlajung Udik village, Gunung Putri, Bogor.<\/p>\n
At Yusuf's residence, the police managed to arrest two other
\nsuspects, Hani, 28, and Riyan, 23, but another suspect, Harun,
\nmanaged to escape out the back door.<\/p>\n
Bachtiar said the driver told police that the four men had
\nbeen planning to collect a debt at a house near the U.S. Embassy
\nresidence, but the police nevertheless believed the house was the
\ntarget.<\/p>\n
The explosion caused no substantial damage to nearby
\nbuildings, but it cracked the windshield of the van, damaged the
\nfront passenger door and left a hole in the floor under the front
\npassenger seat. The car's registration plate had been covered
\nwith black tape to convert the original number of B 8602 ZD to B
\n602 SI.<\/p>\n
Three police patrol cars were seen parked nearby the scene
\nfollowing the blast.<\/p>\n
An official statement from the U.S. Embassy confirmed that one
\nof the houses near the scene belonged to the U.S. Embassy.<\/p>\n
\"The U.S. Embassy owns several properties in the Menteng area
\nwhere this explosion occurred; however, no Americans were
\ninjured,\" the statement said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Embassy is also in direct contact with the Indonesian
\nNational Police and at this time there are no indications that
\nU.S. Embassy properties or U.S. interests were targeted, it said
\nfurther.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Embassy, some two kilometers north of the scene of
\nthe blast, remained guarded as usual with around 10 armed police
\nreinforcing embassy security guards. Two police trucks were also
\nparked nearby.<\/p>\n
Police said that thus far there had been no request from the
\nU.S. Embassy to the police to add more officers to safeguard the
\nformer's properties here.<\/p>\n
The embassy was closed for four days due to alleged al-Qaeda-
\nlinked terrorist threats on the anniversary of the Sept. 11
\nattack in the United States, and was reopened last Monday.<\/p>",
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