09:00CST - 26 Dec 2000Series of EmergencyNet News "Real Time" Reports Concerning Multiple Bomb Blasts in Indonesia on Christmas Eve - 24 Dec 2000 to 27 Dec 2000
27 Dec 2000
INDONESIA:
Police Close In On Six More Bomb Suspects
A police spokesman said on Wednesday that investigators are close to identifying another six suspects in the Christmas Eve church bomb blasts that killed 14 people and wounded 119 others. The spokesman said: "We have two suspects in Bandung already and police in Lombok are further interrogating six witnesses, whom we expect to name as suspects shortly." None of the suspects for their possible affiliations were identified.
Nine locations across Indonesia were hit by bombs weighing between eight and 31 pounds. The devices were delivered to Christian churches and priests' residences on Christmas Eve. The two suspects in the West Java capital of Bandung were identified after a bomb they were allegedly making exploded prematurely, injuring them and killing three of their colleagues. A total of 38 bombs were planted, 15 of which were defused by EOD experts.
Most of the devices, some of them wrapped as Christmas gifts and addressed to Catholic priests, were timed to explode between 2030 hours local time (1330 GMT) and 2100 hours (1400GMT) as Christmas Eve masses were being celebrated. Thirteen bombs sent in biscuit tins to churches and priests' homes in the North Sumatran capital of Medan were timed to detonate at 2330 hours local time (1930GMT). Explosives were also planted in cars, left in bushes near churches and placed inside churches.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts, although analysts have pointed the finger at groups linked to disaffected supporters of the country's previous political regime and elements of the military.
INSTANT
09:00CST - 26 Dec 2000
Jakarta Deploys 18,000 Police Ahead Of Muslim Holiday
On the eve of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, Jakarta police, fearing bombers who left 14 dead on Christmas Eve would strike again on Tuesday, put 18,000 men on bomb alert. Officials and analysts have aired concerns that the aim of the bombers was to open hostilities between Muslims and Christians, and that they might strike again on Eid al-Fitr.
Jakarta Police Chief Mulyono Sulaiman said the 18,000 police would be supported by around 300 soldiers. Sulaiman said the police would be deployed Tuesday on the eve of, and during the two-day Eid al-Fitr on Wednesday and Thursday. Indonesian Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday warned of possible bombings during the Eid celebrations, similar to those which rocked churches and clergymen's homes in eight Indonesian cities on Christmas Eve. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blasts, but police said they had identified four suspects -- two in the West Java city of Bandung, and two on the island of Lombok.
The two suspects in Bandung survived a blast that killed three others in a house in the city. Police said they believed the five were building a bomb.
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13:00CST - 24 Dec 2000
Jakarta Bombs Part of Much Larger Bombing Campaign Directed at Catholics In Indonesia??
Jakarta, Indonesia (EmergencyNet News) -- Reports of injuries and deaths continue to come in to the EmergencyNet News Watch Desk. as it now appears that as many as five (5) bombs have exploded in Jakarta and others have gone off in other Indonesian cities as well. The Reuters News service is reporting at 12:56EST that as many as six people have been killed and "dozens" injured following explosions in Jakarta, Pekanbaru and Bandung.
In Medan, in Northern Sumatra, police were reportedly called to investigate some "suspicious packages" that had been sent to several local priests. When unwrapped, they turned out to be explosive devices with timers. Other devices were reported, or exploded in the vicinity of churches in Batam island, near Singapore, and the East Java town of Mojokerto.
A major investigation continues at this hour in several locations, but all in all, it would appear that Catholic clergy and Catholic churches are the targets of a major bombing campaign, in the largely Muslim Indonesian nation...
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10:00CST - 24 Dec 2000
Explosions Reported at Catholic Churches in Indonesia
Jakarta, Indonesia (EmergencyNet News) -- According preliminary and fragmentary reports, at least two explosions have occurred outside Roman Catholic churches in the Indonesian capital on Christmas eve. Blasts were confirmed outside the Santa Maria church, and shortly thereafter at Santo Yosef church. Unconfirmed reports were also received about a third explosion at a third church. Several people have been injured in the blasts, and that toll may rise. No one claimed responsibility for the blasts. Few official details of the incidents were immediately available, and EmergencyNet News is monitoring events in Indonesia closely. We will provide additional details as the circumstances warrant...
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