Two hurt on homemade bomb blast in Bandung
The Jakarta Post, Bandung
Two people were wounded when a homemade bomb exploded in the basement of the Bandung Super Mal on Jl. Gatot Subroto here on Thursday at around 5:35 p.m.
An hour earlier, at 4:20 p.m., another homemade bomb was found behind the door of a restroom in the Istana Plaza shopping center on Jl. Padjadjaran.
The bomb was then detonated behind the shopping center by the West Java Police bomb squad.
The two bombs were of similar type, police said.
The victims, Agus Sudarto, 28, and Usep Sadar, 20, suffered light wounds to their legs and arms, police said.
The police found the remains of a six-volt battery and wire at the blast scene.
West Java Deputy Police chief Brig. Gen. Deddy S. Komarudin said the explosives had a low explosion capacity and could have only affected those within a radius of five meters.
He also urged people not to politicize the incident.
"We will go after and arrest the perpetrators to prevent similar incidents," he said as quoted by Antara.
He added that the explosives contained sulfur and voltain that are commonly used in the making of firecrackers.
Police stepped up securities in certain strategic locations following the blast and the discovery of the bomb.
According to the police, Agus found a plastic bag inside a window-cleaners gondola, which was then stowed in the basement of the largest shopping mall in the country, Central Bandung Police Precinct chief Second Brig. Ganjar said as quoted by Antara.
Agus then threw the bag into a garbage can. Moments later, it exploded, wounding Agus' arms and legs.
Usep Sadar, a cleaning service employee at the mall who happened to be near the scene, was also wounded by shrapnel, police said.
Police are still investigating the case.
The blast occurred despite efforts to improve security across the country, including in Bandung, where police have stepped up checks in outlying areas since early this week to prevent the entry of explosives into the city.
Bandung Police chief of detectives Adj. Comr. Achmad Rusman told Antara on Wednesday that the police were closely monitoring the five entry points into Bandung from Sumedang, Garut, Subang, Cianjur and Purwakarta respectively.
Raids are also being conducted to prevent the illegal sale of firecrackers in anticipation of the holy month of Ramadhan, when people set off firecrackers despite a government ban.
Mall security officers, meanwhile, said the blast failed to cause panic among shoppers as it occurred in the basement.
Bandung was among several big cities in Indonesia that became a victim of a series of bombings on Christmas Eve in 2000. That night, two workers of a welding shop were killed when a bomb exploded in their workshop. A third man, whose identity was not known, died in a hospital later on.
Several police officers who were sent to inspect report that large explosives had been found on the site were injured when the explosives blasted.
The welder shop was believed to have been used to store and assemble bombs.
Prof. Kusnaka Adimiharjda of Padjadjaran University said the blast was a sign that terror had penetrated Bandung and there is a possibility that it will also occur in other big cities in the country.
"Although the blast from the homemade bomb was small, it still means terror acts have penetrated Bandung," he said as quoted by Antara.
Kusnaka urged the police to pay serious attention to the case because the incident had disrupted peace among the Bandung population.