Six Injured in Homemade Bomb Blast in Depok

The Jakarta Globe, September 09, 2012


Six people were injured when a homemade bomb exploded in a house reportedly used as an orphanage in Depok, West Java, Saturday night.

The explosion rattled windows in Beji, North Depok and damaged a home on Jalan Nusantara. One neighbor, who was on the scene shortly after the 9 p.m. explosion, said that two men fled from the house. A banner for the Pondok Bidara orphanage foundation was hung on the front of the home. According to neighbors, the building is also used for Koran recitals.

Officers removed a fully-completed bomb and assorted bomb-making materials from the scene Saturday night, including plastic bags, gunpowder and pipes, according to the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT). Police also found several firearms, including two guns with attached silencers.

"There are two [guns] with silencers," BNPT chief Insp. Gen. Ansyaad Mbai said on Sunday. "There are many explosives and active bombs that have been secured."

The blast left one person in critical condition, seriously injured three and wounded two others, according to Antara News Agency reports.

The critically injured man beared a resemblance to Toriq, an alleged terrorist who was placed on the police's wanted list after escaping officers in Tambora, Beji police chief Adj. Comr. Agus Widodo told TVOne reporters. The man suffered a serious burns and an injury to his neck in the explosion and has been moved to Police Bhayangkara Hospital for treatment. The extent of the man's burns have made it hard for police to identify him, Agus said, adding that officers may perform a DNA test.

Two others injured in the blast were identified as Mulyadi Tofik and Febri Bagus Kuncoro, according to the Indonesian newspaper Kompas.

Eight people have been questioned in connection with the blast, including four people found in the home, Agus said.

"We have taken eight people in for questioning, all as witnesses," Agus said. "There will be one more, the one that is in critical condition."

Police are investigating whether this explosion has any connection to a recent string of terrorist attacks on police in Solo, Central Java, or a plot to set off bombs in Jakarta.

The guns seized were similar to those allegedly used by Firman, an alleged terrorist arrested in Depok who was involved in the Solo shootings, the BNPT chief said.

"Whether it is related to Firman, it is still under investigation," Ansyaad said. "They used a similar gun, but [these guns have] no markings of the PNP [Philippine's National Police]. It was a Pietro Barreta [Italian-made] gun."

But Ansyaad said that the weapons might have come from the Philippines.

"The guns are homemade, but surely are not Indonesian made," he said. "They are probably from Philippines. No other documents were found."