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Blast hits U.S. restaurant in Indonesia's capital

A bomb exploded at an American fast food restaurant in the Indonesian capital on Saturday, wounding a man believed to have been carrying the device.
/ Source: The Associated Press

A bomb exploded at an American fast food restaurant in the Indonesian capital on Saturday, seriously wounding a man believed to have been carrying the device.

Al-Qaida-linked militants have carried out several bombings in the country in recent years. But police declined to speculate on the motive behind this blast, which comes less than two weeks before President Bush was due to visit Indonesia.

Police said the bomber was “unprofessional,” indicating he was not linked to Islamic militants responsible for a string of well-organized and deadly blasts on Western targets in Indonesia since 2002.

The low-explosive device shattered windows and broke chairs at the A&W restaurant in a shopping mall rarely visited by foreigners, police spokesman Col. Ketut Untung Yoga told el-Shinta radio station. Bomb squads quickly arrived on the scene, and the mall in eastern Jakarta was shut down and surrounded by police.

Bomber was offered help
An employee said staff saw a man outside the restaurant who looked seriously ill and brought him inside to offer him help. A bomb then fell from his bag and detonated, said Sofyan, an A&W cashier who goes by only one name.

Police said the blast was not intended as a suicide attack. The 36-year-old suspect was badly injured and was being treated at a nearby hospital, Yoga said. Media reports said he was an electrical repairman.

Soon after the attack, police raided a rented house in east Jakarta where they suspected the bomber lived after tracing the address through an identity card found in his pocket. They found explosive powder, cables, shrapnel and pipes used to make bombs, suggesting more attacks may have been planned.

Two of the suspect’s relatives were taken in for questioning.

Indonesia, the world most populous Muslim nation, is seen as a close ally in Washington’s global battle against terrorism.

The Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiyah has been blamed for four attacks targeting Western interests in Indonesia since 2002, two in the capital and two on the resort island of Bali that together killed more than 240 people.

Separatist groups and criminal gangs have also been implicated in several other smaller blasts.

More than 300 militants have been arrested, but authorities have repeatedly warned that terrorists were planning more strikes, probably before the year’s end.

Bush is scheduled to make a brief stopover in Indonesia on Nov. 20 after attending an APEC meeting in Vietnam. Security will be tight, with Indonesia saying it plans to deploy some 20,000 soldiers and police for his 10-hour visit.