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5 bombs discovered in Medan Mall
A supermarket employee discovered on Tuesday five live bombs of a high-explosive capacity at a supermarket in Medan Mall, which failed to explode due to weak batteries.So far, no one has been linked to the explosives, which may have been intended to cause disruption ahead of the general election. Supriadi, who works at the bag deposit counter at Macam Yoahan supermarket, said he found the bombs inside a bag kept in the supermarketâs bag deposit counter. "I found the bombs by accident when I became suspicious about a black bag that had been left at the bag deposit counter for several days and had not been collected," he said after reporting it to the local police here on Tuesday. He said that the bag had been left at the counter on Thursday, but he could not recall who had left it. "I canât remember who left the bag since scores of shoppers deposit their bags at the counter every day," he said. A bomb squad from the provincial police who arrived at the site only minutes after receiving the report is still examining the explosives. Medan Police chief Adj. Comr. Juni Duarsah said the multi-story Medan Mall would have collapsed if the bombs had exploded. The supermarket is located on the mallâs second floor. He said the live bombs failed to explode because the nine batteries that were connected to a watch with an alarm and the explosivesâ two detonators were very weak. "According to the time indicated by the clock, the bombs should have exploded at 5 p.m. West Indonesia Time on Thursday," he said. The bombs that were of the M-112 type and weighed one kilogram each were foreign-made and of high-explosive capacity said Duarsah. Duarsah said the police had not yet determined who may be responsible, "but the bombs were (likely) aimed at disrupting political stability in the province ahead of the election campaign period that would start on March 11. "We have set up a joint team from the police to look into the case and the possible perpetrators," he said. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-03-10 |
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