Jakarta shopping mall blast injures 5

JAKARTA - A bomb blast ripped through the ground floor of a busy shopping centre in the Indonesian capital, injuring at least five people, police and witnesses said.

The explosion hit the shopping complex in the central Senen district at 8 pm on Wednesday (early yesterday morning NZT) as commuters were making last-minute purchases before heading home. It blew out windows and sent clouds of thick smoke into the air.

"This bomb is a terrorist act. It's aim is pretty clear, it is to create excessive fear among society", Jakarta governor Sutiyoso said, adding that no one had been killed.

"This is not a stand-alone action, it is part of a syndicated act."

It was unclear who was behind the attack, he said.

There have been several unsolved bomb attacks in Indonesia in recent months, amid political tension that climaxed in the ousting of the country's first democratically elected leader, Abdurrahman Wahid, by the top legislature last week.

Thick smoke covered the multi-storey shopping mall after the blast, which was heard 1.5km away.

Hundreds of bystanders milled about as ambulances rushed the injured to hospital. Police said one person had been hurt seriously but gave no details.

"There was one big explosion that was very loud. A pile of smoke came from the area," said Anisya, who runs a fried chicken stall across from the mall. "It was like a tremor."

Police closed the shopping centre and evacuated the building.

- REUTERS

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