Police plan to charge nine people with violating anti-terror laws after an explosion during what is believed to have been a bomb-making class Sunday at the house of an Islamic teacher.
| That's pretty much what Islamic teachers teach, ain't it? |
Agencies quoted Police spokesman Col. Prasetyo as saying the explosion was caused by the same chemicals that were used in the October 2002 Bali bombings. A number of VCDs were found at the house showing scenes of militants fighting in Afghanistan, a handgun and several rounds of ammunition. No one was injured in the blast, believed to have occurred when small quantities of potassium chlorate and sulfur came into contact with each other. Residents of Cimanggis, Depok, said the blast could be heard up to a kilometer away. Eight men and one woman were arrested at the scene of the blast at the house. On Monday, Jakarta police chief Maj. Gen. Makbul Padmanegara said they would be charged with terror crimes. "They were learning how to make bombs, starting from how to obtain the chemicals, mixing them and assembling," Padmanegara told reporters. "They said they were preparing to defend themselves."
| ... by blowing up beer joints. |
Neighbors said the house was regularly used for meetings attended by men and women dressed in Islamic dress, with only the women’s eyes showing. The arrested persons denied they had any connection to Jemaah Islamiyah, the terrorist organization responsible for the Bali bombing at the J.W. Marriott Hotel bombing in August last year.
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