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.