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US, Australian embassies in Jakarta receive bomb threats

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-11-04 14:18

JAKARTA -- The US and Australian embassies in Jakarta received bomb threats on Tuesday, as the country is tightening security ahead of imminent execution of three Bali bombers, police said here.

An official at the US embassy confirmed that it has received the threat.

National police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira said the threat was received through a telephone text message.

The police searching the embassies did not found the bombs, said Natraprawira.

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"The message was sent by short messages. We are investigating this," he told Xinhua.

The threat said that someone has put bombs at the embassies and will detonate should Amrozi Bali bombers were executed, according to Detik onlione.

Indonesian police have boosted security at the US and Australian embassies and other spots in the country, especially vital facilities, amid fears of reprisal attacks after the execution.

According to the police, the terrorists have extended their target from the West-linked facilities to the objects that link with the government interest. The police recently foiled a terrorist-plot to explode an oil depot in Jakarta.  

The Australian embassy was targeted by suicide bombings in 2004, killing scores of people. Some 87 percent of Indonesia's 240 million population are Muslims, making it the most populous Muslim country.

Indonesia had been hit by a series of major terrorist acts from 2000 to 2005, including the Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005, the hotel explosion in 2003 and the Australian embassy bombing in 2004, killing more than 250 people.

The international militant network of the Jemaah Islamiyah was widely believed behind the deadly strikes.