Indonesia bomb not linked with Islamic militants
Source: Reuters
By Telly Nathalia JAKARTA, Nov 13 (Reuters) - The botched bombing of a U.S.-franchised fast food outlet in Indonesia at the weekend bears none of the hallmarks of previous anti-Western attacks by Islamic militants, police and security experts said on Monday. Authorities said an analysis of bomb-making material recovered from the suspect's home did not match the sophisticated devices used to deadly effect by the Jemaah Islamiah network or its allies. "He did it alone because none of the explosive materials are the same as in other previous bombings," said Jakarta police spokesman Ketut Untung Yoga. Those comments reflect the views of Western security experts, who have concluded that it was not an attack by Jemaah Islamiah radicals. They point to the low-grade explosive, made of simple black powder, the selection of a target unlikely to attract foreigners since it was in a distant Jakarta suburb, and the suspect's apparently strange behaviour in which he failed to get out of the way of what was apparently not a suicide mission. Media reports said the bomber was acting strangely before the blast, apparently pretending to faint shortly before setting off the device. The force of the bomb cracked windows in the restaurant, sending broken plates, glasses and food across the floor. The suspected bomber was the only person injured. Police spokesman Yoga also played down earlier reports that the 36-year-old suspect had stored more bombs in his home, saying investigators had found only material matching the device detonated on Saturday inside an A&W restaurant. Still, the man's motives remain a mystery, although some media outlets have speculated it might be related to the visit of U.S. President George W. Bush on November 20. "Investigators are coordinating with the medical team about when (they) can interrogate him," the spokesman said. The Jakarta Post, meanwhile, said authorities at the tourist resort area of Bali and other regions were tightening security at shopping malls, restaurants and other public places. Jakarta and other parts of Indonesia have been that targets of a number of bomb attacks by Islamic militants usually aimed at targets with Western ties, but other blasts have been linked to separatist groups or criminal activities. In 2003, a bomb exploded near an outlet of the U.S.-based KFC fast-food chain at Jakarta's international airport, wounding more than 10 people. Major attacks linked to Islamic militants have mostly been in the capital or on the resort island of Bali. A bomb attack in 2003 on the U.S.-run JW Marriot hotel in Jakarta killed 12, while another blast outside the Australian embassy a year later killed 10. Two sets of suicide bombings at nightclubs and restaurants popular with Western tourists on Bali in 2002 and 2005 killed more than 220.
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