Big bomb found near Indonesia church; 19 arrested

[April 21, 2011]  JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Police say they found a 150-kilogram (330-pound) bomb buried beneath a gas pipeline near a church outside Indonesia's capital.

Senior security minister Djoko Suyanto said Thursday 19 people have been arrested.

He believes they were plotting an attack during Good Friday celebrations.

Earlier Thursday, police said six people had been arrested in connection with parcel bombs sent last month to targets the perpetrators blamed for "sins against Islam."

It wasn't clear if the two cases were connected.

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THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.
AP's earlier story is below.

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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Police in Indonesia have arrested six people suspected of sending parcel bombs to targets the perpetrators blamed for "sins against Islam."

Police spokesman Maj. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said the six were captured in a raid early Thursday on two houses in Pondok Kopi neighborhood in eastern Jakarta.

The first bomb sent in the capital last month exploded as police were trying to detonate it, wounding four people. The others were disabled safely.

They were sent to Ulil Abshar Abdalla, an outspoken critic of extremism and founder of the U.S.-funded Islamic Liberal Network; Lt. Gen. Gories Mere, former chief of an anti-terror squad; politician Yapto Suryosumarno and well-known singer Ahmad Dhani.

[Associated Press]

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