Airport bomb blast may be linked to militants’ trials

A BOMB exploded near a fast-food restaurant at Jakarta’s main airport yesterday, wounding at least seven.

Indonesia’s security chief said the attack could be linked to trials of militant suspects. The blast at Soekarno-Hatta airport occurred near an outlet of the US-based KFC chain, at a terminal used mostly for international departures.

A television report put the number of wounded at 11 while a health official at the airport and police said at least seven were hurt, one seriously.

The blast comes four days after the opening of the trial of a high profile Muslim cleric linked to the Jemaah

Islamiah militant group, and after police said they had arrested 18 Muslim militants including key members of the southeast Asian network.

“It may have some correlation with ongoing trials of some people suspected to be involved in terrorism acts,” chief security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters.

A bomb attack on the resort island of Bali in October that killed 202 people has been blamed on members of the Jemaah Islamiah, linked by Western and Asian governments to the al- Qaida network of Osama bin Laden.

Police said yesterday’s blast occurred behind the KFC outlet, which was quickly cordoned off and checked by sniffer dogs.

Jakarta police spokesman Prasetyo said the crude bomb had a timing device and was in a backpack under a bench near the restaurant.

Television pictures showed upturned furniture in the restaurant and a large pool of blood on the floor.

National police chief Da’i Bachtiar said several theories were being investigated, including links to the Bali blasts and recent blasts in the north Sumatran capital of Medan that police have blamed on separatist rebels from Aceh province.

The blast is more bad publicity for Indonesia as it tries to convince investors that the world’s fourth most populous country, and the most populous Muslim country, is safe for business.