Security beefed up to prevent Christmas bombings

Jupriadi, The Jakarta Post, Makassar, South Sulawesi

A group of bombers led by Agung Abdul Hamid, who has been blamed for a McDonald's outlet blast in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, planned more attacks at Christmas and New Year's Eve, police said on Saturday.

South Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani told a news conference on Saturday that the Agung-led bombers had ordered 50 detonators to stage bombings on Christmas and New Year's Eve in South Sulawesi.

"Based on police data, several suspects admitted they had planned to carry out activities that would peak on Christmas Eve. This group had already ordered 50 detonators," he said. "The plot was also revealed by the discovery of explosives such as TNT (during arrests)," he added.

Firman said one of the suspects, Kahar Mustafa, the alleged supplier of a detonator used for the McDonald's blast, confessed that he had accepted an order for 50 detonators from Agung's network.

Kahar surrendered to police in Sinjai district, South Sulawesi, on Friday.

Agung, a suspected member of the radical Laskar Jundullah group, is the alleged mastermind of the Dec. 5 bombing that killed three people and wounded 11 others. However, he is still at large.

Firman earlier said that Agung had fled Makassar with at least four bombs that were ready for detonation.

To prevent any attacks, the police on Sunday tightly guarded churches, shopping centers and other vital public facilities. Every visitor, particularly those in churches, had to undergo a police check at the entrance.

"We will be on full alert. The local military chief has stated his readiness to help ensure security in the region," Firman said on Saturday.

He called on Christians to avoid Christmas celebrations late in the evening or at night, and to coordinate with local security authorities.

Firman said Agung and his accomplices were also found to have allegedly smuggled weapons on a number of occasions to Makassar by boat. "One delivery contained between 10 and 20 guns," he said.

The weapons were later distributed in the conflict-torn areas of Ambon in Maluku and Poso in Central Sulawesi, he added.

Firman could not, however, identify the smuggled weapons. "It was difficult to identify the type of the weapons because their numbers were not registered.

Nor could he say where the guns were smuggled from.

A reliable source revealed that apart from supplying guns to Ambon and Poso, the Agung-led team of bomb plotters were also found to have supplied weapons to Malaysia and the Philippines.

"Another suspect, Suryadi, also admitted that this group had sent weapons abroad several times. Besides, it also supplied guns to a terrorist network in Asia," Firman confirmed.

Firman also said that the police had added six more names to the list of suspects, bringing the total number of people suspected of involvement in the McDonald's blast that left three people killed to 16. Four of them are still on the run.

The new suspects are Agung's father and younger brother, two men linked to the bomber of the MacDonald outlet, and another two men suspected of having supplied the bombers with detonators.

Firman said earlier that the network involved in the Makassar blast was also involved in bombings at Manado in North Sulawesi and at Poso in Central Sulawesi.

Police have also linked the alleged Makassar bombers with those blamed for the Oct. 12 bomb attack on the resort island of Bali, which killed over 190 people and injured some 300 others, mostly foreigners.

The Bali plotters are said to be part of the regional terror group Jamaah Islamiyah that was recently put on the UN list of international terrorist groups.

In October, the National Police arrested Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, the alleged spiritual leader of Jamaah Islamiyah, in connection with the 2000 Christmas bombings and a plot to kill then vice president Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Firman said the authorities were searching for links between Agung's group and Jamaah Islamiyah, as well as radical Muslims in the southern Philippines.

Agung and another key suspect, Muchtar Daeng Lau, were believed to have received bomb-making training in the southern Philippines and Afghanistan.

Firman said the police were also investigating the sources of bomb-making materials used for the Makassar blast. "We are looking into the channels of their distribution. The flow of funds received by Agung Hamid's group is also still under investigation," he added.