Grenade explosion targets Blok M Plaza: Police

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The grenade which exploded on Jl. Bulungan, South Jakarta and claimed one life in the early hours of 2002 was, in fact, meant to go off several meters away, amid hundreds of revelers as they celebrated the New Year at the Plaza Blok M shopping mall, police now believe.

Police officials declined speculate as to who might have been behind the failed attack, which took place at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Investigators said they were following leads, starting from known associates of 21-year-old Hasballah, a suspect who was killed while reportedly carrying the grenade.

City Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam told The Jakarta Post that there was strong cause to believe that the intent was to throw the grenade either "at the crowd around Plaza Blok M, or the building itself."

"But the grenade exploded in the suspect's hand before he could throw it," Anton added.

Police have also said they believe that the attackers set off two firecrackers in an effort to conceal their involvement in the failed attack.

It is also believed that Hasballah, who died of his wounds several hours after the explosion, was assisted by another man, identified as Tarmizi, who was able to flee the area.

Some 15 eyewitnesses have told police that they saw Tarmizi at the scene of the crime.

Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara said both suspects were native of Acehnese who had been living in the capital for several months.

Hasbullah was reportedly from Blang Cut, while Tarmizi came from Sigli, in Aceh province.

Nonetheless, Makbul could not confirm whether the abortive attack was linked to separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

"They are Acehnese, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they are GAM members," Makbul said.

Makbul claimed that the grenade used resembled those that exploded at the Slipi flyover in west Jakarta and the Mampang flyover in South Jakarta in July.

Police forensics laboratory tests show that the hand grenade was a South Korean-made, type K-75, locally known as Granat Manggis containing high explosives RDX and trinitrotolune (TNT).