Grenade explodes near U.S.-owned property

Grenade explodes near U.S.-owned property

Damar Harsanto and Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Bogor

A grenade exploded in the early hours of Monday morning in a
Kijang van traveling close to U.S.-owned property here, killing
one passenger and injuring the driver.

Meanwhile, the police gave conflicting statements over the
blast.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said the grenade was
meant to be tossed at an unoccupied house belonging to the U.S.
Embassy but it prematurely exploded inside the car at 3:30 a.m.

"Four people inside the car planned to throw the grenade at
the building, but the grenade went off prematurely," Da'i told
reporters.

However, later in the same day, some other senior police
officers added "some clarifications" to Da'i's statement.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara said it was
too early to say whether those in the van were targeting the U.S.
Embassy house, located on Jl. Teluk Betung in Menteng, Central
Jakarta.

"It is as yet uncertain whether the U.S. Embassy house was the
target," Makbul said.

Separately, National Police spokesman Comr. Gen. Saleh Saaf
agreed with Makbul's statement.

The blast is the fifth explosion to have rocked the capital
the year. Thus far, the police have as yet been unable to reveal
the motives or groups behind these attacks.

Monday's blast, which occurred less than one kilometer from
the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle and the residence of the U.S.
Ambassador, killed Abdul Azis Jenis, 30 and slightly injured the
van's driver, Yusuf, 28, in the abdomen. Yusuf was later seized
by residents in the neighborhood. Two other passengers on board,
identified as Lili and Taita, managed to flee the scene.

Right after the blast, the police, directed by Yusuf, went to
the assailants' hideout in Gunung Putri, Bogor, not far from the
southern outskirts of Jakarta, and managed to recover two sticks
of TNT and 20 FN bullets from Azis' rented house in Griya Bukit
Jaya, Tlajung Udik village, Gunung Putri, Bogor.

At Yusuf's residence, the police managed to arrest two other
suspects, Hani, 28, and Riyan, 23, but another suspect, Harun,
managed to escape out the back door.

Bachtiar said the driver told police that the four men had
been planning to collect a debt at a house near the U.S. Embassy
residence, but the police nevertheless believed the house was the
target.

The explosion caused no substantial damage to nearby
buildings, but it cracked the windshield of the van, damaged the
front passenger door and left a hole in the floor under the front
passenger seat. The car's registration plate had been covered
with black tape to convert the original number of B 8602 ZD to B
602 SI.

Three police patrol cars were seen parked nearby the scene
following the blast.

An official statement from the U.S. Embassy confirmed that one
of the houses near the scene belonged to the U.S. Embassy.

"The U.S. Embassy owns several properties in the Menteng area
where this explosion occurred; however, no Americans were
injured," the statement said.

The U.S. Embassy is also in direct contact with the Indonesian
National Police and at this time there are no indications that
U.S. Embassy properties or U.S. interests were targeted, it said
further.

The U.S. Embassy, some two kilometers north of the scene of
the blast, remained guarded as usual with around 10 armed police
reinforcing embassy security guards. Two police trucks were also
parked nearby.

Police said that thus far there had been no request from the
U.S. Embassy to the police to add more officers to safeguard the
former's properties here.

The embassy was closed for four days due to alleged al-Qaeda-
linked terrorist threats on the anniversary of the Sept. 11
attack in the United States, and was reopened last Monday.