New bomb found at Makassar church

New bomb found at Makassar church

Jupriadi, The Jakarta Post, Makassar, South Sulawesi

People in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar were shocked by
the discovery of a new bomb on Friday, which was similar to that
detonated last week at a McDonald's fast food outlet in the city
that killed at least three people and injured 11 others.

The home-made bomb was found at 3:30 p.m. outside a church
located on Jl. Pengayoman No. 1E in Makassar. It had been
reported first by a security guard named Silas in the city's
Panakkukang area.

The church is close to the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)
restaurant where a bomb exploded in September last year.

South Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said on
Friday the bomb could not have exploded in its present state as
it was not equipped with a timer.

Firman added that the bomb at the Bethel Indonesia Church was
related to the bomb detonated at McDonald's a week ago, adding
that it contained the same explosives.

Firman speculated that the bomb was planted there in order to
alter the public's attention from the investigation into the
McDonald's blast.

In a related development, one of the wanted suspects in the
McDonald's bombing, Kahar Mustafa, surrendered to police in the
Sinjai district, South Sulawesi.

Kahar, the alleged supplier of a detonator used for the Dec. 5
blast at the fast-food restaurant, was later taken to the
provincial police headquarters for questioning.

"We are currently interrogating Kahar Mustafa. He is the
alleged supplier of a bomb detonator in the McDonald's attack,"
Firman said.

With Kahar's surrender, the police have so far detained seven
of the suspects in the bombing. The others are Azhar Daeng Salam,
Muchtar Daeng Lau, Usman, Masnur, Ilham and Lukman Hasan.

Three other suspects, Agung Hamid -- the alleged mastermind of
the McDonald's bombing -- Hisbullah Rasyid and Dahlan -- are
still the subject of police manhunt, while the other suspect,
Ansar is believed to be among the three dead in the blast.

In addition, the police have arrested four possible suspects,
including Agung's brother Iwal Hamid and father Abdul Hamid.

The police found 2.5 kilograms of TNT at a metal workshop
belonging to suspect Masnur. Days later, they also seized an
unspecified amount of TNT at the home of the father of another
prime suspect Agung Hamid.

Police have named Agung as the alleged mastermind of the
deadly Makassar bombing. He was believed to have received bomb-
training in Afghanistan and the Philippines.

Some of the suspected Makassar bombers are members of Laskar
Jundullah, the armed wing of the Committee to Uphold Islamic
Sharia in South Sulawesi.

Laskar Jundullah's alleged leader, Agus Dwikarna, was
sentenced earlier this year in the Philippines to 17 years in
jail for possession of explosives.

Philippine police have accused Agus of being part of Jamaah
Islamiyah, the al-Qaida-linked Southeast Asian militant group
blamed for the Bali bomb attack.

Firman said that McDonald's bombers were part of the network
that executed the Bali attack. He said they also planned to bomb
churches in Makassar and in other towns in South Sulawesi,
particularly during Christmas.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said earlier the
Makassar bombers knew the suspects in the Oct. 12 bombing in Bali
in which more than 190 people, mostly foreigners, were killed.

Police are holding 15 suspects, including the alleged
masterminds, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra as well another key suspect
Amrozi, in the Bali case on the resort island.