Indonesian counter-terrorism forces carried out a controlled detonation of a bomb retrieved from a group of three people during a crackdown on a dormitory in Bekasi, a town close to Jakarta.
Police believe that the bomb was prepared to attack the State Palace in Central Jakarta. It is also reported that the bomb contained high explosives which could have created mass destruction.
"The plan was to use the bomb at the presidential palace during the change of guard," said Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono, according to the Channel News Asia.
Two men and a woman have been arrested by police in connection with the bomb and for allegedly hatching a plot to blast the State Palace. Officers also found a letter that the woman intended to send to her parents, said a police statement according to the news website. In the letter, she stated her intention to carry out jihad.
Jakarta Post reported that the bomb weighed around 3 kilograms and was made of triacetone triperoxide (TATP), a highly explosive substance capable of creating a large number of casualties. "If detonated, the bomb could have destroyed everything within a radius of 300 meters," said Argo, as reported.
This incident has triggered frenzy among the administration. Also, Jakarta will be witnessing the highly controversial trial of governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama on 13 December for which police have been put on high alert. Moreover, Indonesia has been maligned by Islamic State-inspired radicalism from time to time.
