Malaysian embassy on alert after threat<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Jakarta Police increased security around the Malaysian Embassy on
\nJl. Rasuna Said in South Jakarta after an unidentified caller
\nthreatened late on Monday to blow up the embassy.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana
\nsaid on Tuesday addition officers had been deployed to guard the
\nembassy.<\/p>\n
He said officers from the Jakarta Police antiterror unit were
\nworking to identify the caller based on telephone records.<\/p>\n
The police said they would seek assistance from communications
\nexperts and mobile phone system providers to trace the caller.<\/p>\n
A security guard at the embassy, Agus Setiawan, 33, received a
\ntelephone call from a an unidentified man at 9 p.m. on Monday.
\nThe caller said he had placed bombs in the embassy and that they
\nwere set to go off at 1 a.m.<\/p>\n
The man reportedly called the embassy five times and made the
\nsame threat before guards contacted the police.<\/p>\n
At about 10 p.m., the bomb squad arrived to search the
\nembassy. The embassy was declared safe at about 12 a.m.<\/p>\n
Ketut said police were attempting to discover a motive for the
\nthreat against the Malaysian Embassy.<\/p>\n
"The caller probably just wanted to take advantage of our
\ncurrent focus on bomb threats. However, we will investigate the
\nhoax because we do not want to take the risk that the caller
\nmight actually have been a member of a terrorist group," he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has been on full alert since the Oct. 1 suicide
\nbombings that destroyed two cafes and a restaurant in Jimbaran
\nand Kuta in Bali, killing 22 people and injuring more than 130.<\/p>\n
Several days before the Idul Fitri holiday, the police's
\nspecial antiterror unit, Detachment 88, received information
\nindicating the possibility of bombing during the holiday.<\/p>\n
Authorities said recently they had stepped up security after
\nOmar al-Farouq, an alleged lieutenant to Osama bin Laden and
\nleader of the al-Qaeda terror network in Southeast Asia region,
\nescaped from a U.S. prison in Afghanistan in July, and after the
\nAustralian government warned of more bombings in Indonesia before
\nthe end of the year.<\/p>\n
According to the police, bomb threats are made daily via
\ntelephone calls and text messages (SMS) against office buildings,
\nmalls and hotels in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Police, however, have only been able to trace one SMS sender
\nso far this year.<\/p>\n
In response, the government announced recently it would
\nrequire all mobile phone owners with prepaid accounts to
\nregister, and for all sellers of mobile phone numbers to record
\nthe identities of buyers.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malaysian-embassy-on-alert-after-threat-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}