JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Tens of thousands of police will guard churches across the world's most populous Muslim country over the Christmas holidays, officials said Monday, as the U.S. Embassy warned that terrorists could carry out strikes targeting Westerners.
-
(Photo: AFP / file / Jewel Samad)Two policemen stand alert near a church in Jakarta. Indonesia is deploying some 18,000 police and troops to guard churches and mosques over Christmas and New Year with terror mastermind Noordin Mohammad Top still on the loose, police have said.
The regional militant group Jemaah Islamiyah has been blamed for annual attacks in Indonesia since 2000, and with this year so far bomb-free many people are afraid another bombing is imminent.
Coordinated blasts killed 19 people on Christmas Eve in 2000, and a strike on a Christian market last New Year's Eve left seven dead.
The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta warned of a "serious security threat to Americans and other Westerners in Indonesia," saying targets could include hotels, malls, businesses, housing compounds, transportation systems, places of worship, schools or public events.
"Terrorists in Indonesia have most often directed attacks at specific buildings or locations. The possibility exists that individual Americans could be targeted for kidnapping or assault," it said in a statement.
Indonesia, made up of 190 million mostly moderate Muslims, has grappled with extremists in recent years, fueled in part by anger over the U.S.-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. The four biggest terror strikes blamed on Jemaah Islamiyah have targeted Western interests.
Indonesian authorities would not reveal if they had received any specific threat for the Christmas season, saying only that security was being boosted as a precaution because Noordin Top, Jemaah Islamiyah's alleged operations chief, was still at large.
"Houses of worship are our priority," said police spokesman Col. Ketut Untung Yoga, adding that more than 18,000 officers would be posted at thousands of churches and other religious sites in the capital.
Security will also be increased in Poso, a town on Sulawesi island that in the past has been the flashpoint of violence between Christians and Muslims, with tensions surging anew after the executions of three Christian militants in September.
Jemaah Islamiyah is blamed for the 2002 twin nightclub attacks on Bali island, the 2003 blasts at the J.W. Marriott Hotel, the 2004 bombings at the Australian Embassy and last year's restaurant bombings on Bali.
Those attacks together killed more than 240 people.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
RSS
