Suspected Indonesian Islamist detonates home-made bomb by accident
Improvised bombs allegedly constructed to be used in terrorist attacks accidentally detonated in a home in Indonesia’s West Java Province on Saturday, with a suspected Islamist later arrested, police said.
The 21-year-old suspect, identified as food vendor Agus Wiguna, was arrested after the explosion in his rented home at around 3.30pm in the provincial capital of Bandung, according to national police spokesman Rikwanto. No casualties were reported.
Since June 1, the suspect had used information gathered from a militant website to assemble the bombs, the police representative said. A pressure cooker containing nails and some exploded pressure cooker bombs were recovered at the site of the explosion.
Bandung Police chief Hendro Pandowo said the suspect admitted his plan to bomb several places in Bandung, including a restaurant, church and cafe on Braga Road, a well-known street famous among tourists since the Dutch colonial occupation of Indonesia.
According to Rikwanto, Cafe Bali would have been the first target, with the bomber allegedly planning to strike on July 16.
“It was not immediately clear why the suspect chose the three targets, but he confessed that his objective was to carry out “a jihad against non-Muslims,” Hendro said.
