Huge bombs found by church timed for Good Friday blast

Djoko Suyanto, a security minister, said he believed Islamic militants had been plotting an attack ahead of Easter celebrations. The United States embassy urged Americans to be vigilant.

The explosives, safely defused at the scene, were set to detonate at around 9am today.

“The army and police are under high alert,” the minister told reporters, adding that troops would be deployed at churches and other strategic locations. “We want to guarantee safety.”

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, has been fighting extremists since 2002 when al Qaida-linked militants attacked two nightclubs on the island of Bali, killing 202 people, many of them tourists.

Several attacks since then targeted hotels, restaurants and an embassy, killing another 60. Hundreds of suspects have been arrested, convicted and imprisoned.

In recent months, small bands of militants hoping to turn the secular nation of 237 million into an Islamic state have shifted their focus to local “enemies”.

They have targeted police, members of a minority Islamic sect deemed “deviant,” Christians and moderate Muslim leaders.

National Police Chief Gen Timur Pradopo said 19 suspects were arrested, including six in connection with a series of mail bombs sent last month to liberal Muslim activists and a former anti-terror chief.

Several people were wounded in the parcel bombings, none seriously.

The arrested men eventually led police to the gas pipeline 100 yards from a Roman Catholic church in Serpong large enough to hold 3,000 people.

They discovered five bombs that together weighed 150 kilogrammes (330lb) and were rigged to be detonated by mobile phone, according to Nardi Atmaja, a church official at the scene.

Local media quoted investigators as saying each explosion would have had a reach of up to 250 yards, presumably engulfing the church in flames during Good Friday celebrations.

The US embassy in Jakarta issued a statement urging Americans to be especially cautious over the weekend and to stay clear of demonstrations.

“Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence,” it said.

Ninety percent of Indonesians are Muslim, though most practice a moderate form of the faith and abhor violence. A small, extremist fringe has become more vocal, and violent, in recent years.