New bomb found at Makassar church<\/p>\n
Jupriadi, The Jakarta Post, Makassar, South Sulawesi<\/p>\n
People in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar were shocked by
\nthe discovery of a new bomb on Friday, which was similar to that
\ndetonated last week at a McDonald's fast food outlet in the city
\nthat killed at least three people and injured 11 others.<\/p>\n
The home-made bomb was found at 3:30 p.m. outside a church
\nlocated on Jl. Pengayoman No. 1E in Makassar. It had been
\nreported first by a security guard named Silas in the city's
\nPanakkukang area.<\/p>\n
The church is close to the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)
\nrestaurant where a bomb exploded in September last year.<\/p>\n
South Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said on
\nFriday the bomb could not have exploded in its present state as
\nit was not equipped with a timer.<\/p>\n
Firman added that the bomb at the Bethel Indonesia Church was
\nrelated to the bomb detonated at McDonald's a week ago, adding
\nthat it contained the same explosives.<\/p>\n
Firman speculated that the bomb was planted there in order to
\nalter the public's attention from the investigation into the
\nMcDonald's blast.<\/p>\n
In a related development, one of the wanted suspects in the
\nMcDonald's bombing, Kahar Mustafa, surrendered to police in the
\nSinjai district, South Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
Kahar, the alleged supplier of a detonator used for the Dec. 5
\nblast at the fast-food restaurant, was later taken to the
\nprovincial police headquarters for questioning.<\/p>\n
\"We are currently interrogating Kahar Mustafa. He is the
\nalleged supplier of a bomb detonator in the McDonald's attack,\"
\nFirman said.<\/p>\n
With Kahar's surrender, the police have so far detained seven
\nof the suspects in the bombing. The others are Azhar Daeng Salam,
\nMuchtar Daeng Lau, Usman, Masnur, Ilham and Lukman Hasan.<\/p>\n
Three other suspects, Agung Hamid -- the alleged mastermind of
\nthe McDonald's bombing -- Hisbullah Rasyid and Dahlan -- are
\nstill the subject of police manhunt, while the other suspect,
\nAnsar is believed to be among the three dead in the blast.<\/p>\n
In addition, the police have arrested four possible suspects,
\nincluding Agung's brother Iwal Hamid and father Abdul Hamid.<\/p>\n
The police found 2.5 kilograms of TNT at a metal workshop
\nbelonging to suspect Masnur. Days later, they also seized an
\nunspecified amount of TNT at the home of the father of another
\nprime suspect Agung Hamid.<\/p>\n
Police have named Agung as the alleged mastermind of the
\ndeadly Makassar bombing. He was believed to have received bomb-
\ntraining in Afghanistan and the Philippines.<\/p>\n
Some of the suspected Makassar bombers are members of Laskar
\nJundullah, the armed wing of the Committee to Uphold Islamic
\nSharia in South Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
Laskar Jundullah's alleged leader, Agus Dwikarna, was
\nsentenced earlier this year in the Philippines to 17 years in
\njail for possession of explosives.<\/p>\n
Philippine police have accused Agus of being part of Jamaah
\nIslamiyah, the al-Qaida-linked Southeast Asian militant group
\nblamed for the Bali bomb attack.<\/p>\n
Firman said that McDonald's bombers were part of the network
\nthat executed the Bali attack. He said they also planned to bomb
\nchurches in Makassar and in other towns in South Sulawesi,
\nparticularly during Christmas.<\/p>\n
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said earlier the
\nMakassar bombers knew the suspects in the Oct. 12 bombing in Bali
\nin which more than 190 people, mostly foreigners, were killed.<\/p>\n
Police are holding 15 suspects, including the alleged
\nmasterminds, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra as well another key suspect
\nAmrozi, in the Bali case on the resort island.<\/p>",
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