Explosions rock Bandung gambling dens, damage cars

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Abdul Khalik, Bandung/Jakarta

Two homemade bombs exploded simultaneously at two gambling centers in Bandung, West Java, on Wednesday, damaging several cars. No injuries were reported.

Police were quick to say that the blasts that occurred at around 10:30 a.m. were not linked to any terrorist group. But the motive behind the incidents remains unclear.

The first bomb exploded at a gambling and prostitution house near the former Braga Hotel in the crowded Jl. Braga area, while the second explosion took place 100 meters away in the third floor of Hotel Eterna.

Jujun, 40, a parking attendant at Hotel Eterna, said he heard a loud explosion when he was standing in front of the building.

Another witness Yadi, 25, a chicken noodle vendor, said he was standing five meters from the hotel when the bomb exploded, while Ujang, 38, who was painting tables at another level of the hotel, said he heard a very loud explosion that shook the walls.

They all claimed that the former Hotel Braga and its surrounding buildings had been turned into gambling and prostitution houses.

Police officers who arrived at the scene found four small batteries, four pieces of cable and green aluminum foil and identified the bombs as low explosives.

Bandung Police chief Sr. Comr. Hendra Sukmana said the blasts were not believed to have any link with regional terrorist group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), though he had warned the public ahead of the presidential election that two Malaysian JI fugitives Azahari and Noordin Moh Top were at large in Bandung.

"It is not a terrorist-linked activity because the bombs are just small homemade explosives," argued Hendra.

Azahari and Noordin are wanted for involvement in terrorist attacks including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, and the JW Marriott Hotel blast that left 12 people dead last August.

Police had said the two suspected masterminds fled with explosives and planned fresh attacks ahead of the July 5 election.

Hendra said his office was interrogating four witnesses, identified as Alam, Endang, Levi Kurnia and Etok, to shed light on the motives of Wednesday's blasts and their perpetrators.

He could not say whether the incidents were connected to a recent protest against gambling activities in the area.

However, National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung said the blasts were linked to gambling activities.

"We can conclude that it is an act against gambling as the bombers seem to want to intentionally destroy gambling places there," he said.

In a similar vein, Suyitno said the two explosions were too small to be connected with recent terrorist activities.

"Although we are investigating the case, we can say that from a preliminary examination the incident was not a terrorist attack," he added.