Five hurt in Jakarta bomb blast

JAKARTA - A suspected home-made bomb exploded at a boarding-house in the Indonesian capital around dawn yesterday, seriously injuring five people.

The blast destroyed much of the two-storey building in a south Jakarta suburb, and also damaged homes nearby. "The motive and the type of explosion is still being investigated, but we suspect it was caused by a home-made bomb," Jakarta police spokesman Anton Bahrul Alam said.

Most of the residents were believed to be students. A series of bomb blasts has rocked Indonesian cities in the past year, adding to the headaches facing President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Residents said the explosion triggered panic in the usually quiet neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, fresh separatist fighting in Aceh province left 13 people - including a family of three - dead, police said.

Soldiers shot five guerrillas dead in a gunbattle on the outskirts of the provincial capital Banda Aceh on Monday. Two civilians were found dead nearby.

- REUTERS

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