Two hurt on homemade bomb blast in Bandung
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.