A terrorist bomb has exploded in Ambon, in eastern Indonesia. Ambon is in the Maluku islands, once known as the Spice Islands. As the Jakarta Post reports, a bomb with nails exploded at the port, injuring many people. Terror groups, whether in the Middle East, Bosnia or Indonesia follow the same strategy, that is, to harm people and create trouble. Ambon had a mixed population of Muslims and Christians, the goal here is to stimulate violence, just like Iraq. As far as tourists are concerned, the threat is low, since tourists generally don’t go to Ambon. JI is attempting to create problems in communities where Muslims live next to another group, which accounts for the trouble, and army presence in Central Suluwesi. Indonesia seems like a country ready to go off at a moment’s notice. The perpetrators of these violent acts are hoping to be the trigger.
Bomb blast at port in Ambon wounds at least 12, police say
AMBON, Maluku (AP): A bomb packed with nails exploded at a port in the eastern Indonesian city of Ambon on Saturday, wounding 12 people in a region that has seen deadly Muslim-Christian violence in the past, police said.
The blast in the seaside city on Maluku island shattered months of relative calm there, but follows raids last month by police on neighboring Sulawesi island that killed 14 alleged Islamic militants.
The explosion rocked the port as passengers disembarked from a ship, sending nails and other shrapnel into a crowd of motorbike taxi drivers waiting to collect customers, said Ambon policechief Sr. Comr.Trilulus Rahardjo.
Trilulus said two of the 12 wounded were seriously injured, but gave no more details.
He said the presence of shrapnel confirmed the blast came from a bomb, but investigators were still unsure whether the device was hurled into the crowd or concealed and left on the ground.Local residents said the explosion was heard two kilometers (more than a mile) away.
Muslims and Christians fought bloody battles in the Malukus between 1999 and 2001 that left around 9,000 people dead. The area – known as the Spice Islands in colonial times – has been largely peaceful since 2001.
Trilulus declined to speculate on who might be responsible for Saturday’s blast at the port, which is used by Muslims and Christians alike.
During the early fighting in Ambon, hundreds of people learnt how to make simple but deadly bombs. Like in other cities in Indonesia, Ambon is home to many gangs who often fight for control of illegal businesses or protection rackets.
Nearby Sulawesi island was also rocked by religious violence in 2000 and 2001, but killings and bombings mostly blamed on Muslim extremists have been more common there in recent years.
More than 80 percent of Indonesia’s 210 million people are Muslims, but Sulawesi and the Maluku chain are evenly divided between Muslims and Christians.
