Bomb damages church in Poso

INDONESIA: A bomb blast early on Saturday caused heavy damage to a church in the town of Ampana in the conflict-ridden Poso regency, Central Sulawesi.

No one was hurt in the explosion at the Protestant church, and no one claimed responsibility for the incident.

"There were no victims in the incident, but the front door, the ceiling and the windows of the house of worship were destroyed," local resident Hasan said.

Ampana Police chief Second Insp. Endang Kusnadi and his officers arrived at the scene soon after the explosion.

The majority of Ampana residents are Muslim.

The blast was the latest act of violence to test a fragile, government-mediated truce signed in the South Sulawesi resort town of Malino in December.

The truce helped end two years of fighting between Christians and Muslims in Poso that left more than 1,000 dead.

On Thursday, a bomb blast near a Christian high school injured a police officer and two civilians. Three unexploded bombs were found on Friday outside a hospital and an elementary school. The bombs were taken away and defused. -- Antara