Police raid in Ambon nets bombs, ammo<\/p>\n
M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon<\/p>\n
Police officers found hundreds of rounds of ammunition and
\nexplosive devices during sweeps over the past week in Laha
\nsubdistrict, Ambon Baguala district, Ambon.<\/p>\n
Officers from the elite Mobile Brigade also arrested Pakhri
\nbin Jaga, who is said to be former member of Laskar Jihad.<\/p>\n
\"He is being detained for possession of explosives and
\nammunition,\" Ambon Island and Lease Islands Police chief Adj. Sr.
\nComr. Leonidas Braksan said on Monday.<\/p>\n
First Insp. Yustanto Mujiharso, who led the sweeps, said his
\nunit combed Laha after a tip from residents that explosives and
\nammunition were being stored in the subdistrict. The items are
\nthought to be left over from the sectarian violence in Maluku in
\n2000.<\/p>\n
During the searches, officers found 95 homemade bombs, five
\nconnected to detonators, 389 AK-47 bullets, hundreds of other
\nbullets of different calibers, four homemade guns, two homemade
\nrifles, three steel helmets and other items.<\/p>\n
According to Yustanto, the 95 bombs contained TNT.<\/p>\n
Some of the items were found in houses in the subdistrict,
\nwhich is a majority Muslim area, while others were unearthed in
\nnearby cacao plantations.<\/p>\n
Police also found a small bunker in the subdistrict where the
\nhelmets and several pairs of military-style boots were kept.<\/p>\n
Those residents who voluntarily handed over ammunition or
\nweapons were not detained, Yustanto said.<\/p>\n
\"We will conduct sweeps in other areas soon, including
\nChristian areas,\" Yustanto said.<\/p>\n
Ambon was rocked by sectarian violence in 1999. The violence,
\nwhich continued on and off until 2002, left thousands of Muslims
\nand Christians dead, and forced hundreds of thousands of others
\nto flee their homes.<\/p>\n
The violence largely subsided in 2002 after a government-
\nsponsored peace agreement, but bombings and attacks continue to
\ntake place.<\/p>",
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