Grenade blast linked to loan dispute: Police

Grenade blast linked to loan dispute: Police

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After conflicting statements made about a deadly grenade
explosion near a house belonging to the U.S. Embassy on Monday,
the police have linked the fatal incident to a loan dispute,
quelling allegations that the case may have been an act of
terrorism.

"The interrogation of some suspects and witnesses hasn't
yielded any indication that the blast was linked to terrorism.
It's just common debt collection stuff," said city police
spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam.

Citing statements made by some suspects, Anton said the
suspect killed in the blast, Abdul Azis, 30, was working as a
debt collector.

"The grenade exploded prematurely due to the bomber's lack of
expertise in handling explosives," Anton said.

However, Anton said the police were unconvinced over the
suspects' statements. "We will do some crosschecking when we
arrest the other two suspects who are still at large."

Azis was killed when the grenade exploded inside a Kijang van
on Monday at 3:30 a.m. on Jl. Teluk Betung, Menteng, Central
Jakarta.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Monday that
the target of the attack was the house belonging to the U.S.
Embassy. But later in the day, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen.
Makbul Padmanagara said it was too early to say if the assailants
had planned to throw the grenade at the building.

The police are questioning three suspects over the blast: M.
Yusuf G. Taul, 26, the driver of the van, Hasan Nahumaruri, 22,
and Rian Lestaluhu, 28. Police are also searching for Lili and
Taita, the other two suspects who fled the scene.

Separately, an intelligence source confirmed that the recent
grenade explosion was economically driven and revolved around a
dispute between two local businessmen, identified as Hasyim and
Sandy, in which the latter failed to repay the former Rp 5
billion (about US$550,000).

"The suspects were believed to be debt collectors and had just
arrived here from the conflict-torn area of Ambon. They were
amateurs," the source said, requesting anonymity.

"It was such a coincidence that the attack occurred at a time
when the U.S. was launching its campaign to find out if al-Qaeda
was operating in Indonesia," he said.

"They (al-Qaeda members) have a contact person and are
developing its network here. Based on our intelligence report,
almost 90 percent of the al-Qaeda suspects living in this country
are of Arabic descent," he said.

But he stopped short in disclosing who might be held
responsible for a series of bomb attacks that recently rocked the
country.

He also denied allegations that the attack was made as an
attempt to create disinformation among the public.

Meanwhile, the military said it had yet to see solid proof
that the international terrorist group had been operating here
and was building up its network with the country's hard-liners.

"The Army Headquarters has not found any evidence of al-
Qaeda's existence in Indonesia. There is terrorism in every
country, but on al-Qaeda, there's been no such reports yet," Army
Chief Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu told reporters.

Accusations have been flying that the incident was part of an
intelligence operation in support of CIA documents and the U.S.'s
recent claim that its interests in Indonesia might be the target
of terrorism from certain hard-liners here.