A huge bomb explosion tore into the front of the residence of the Philippine ambassador in Jakarta Tuesday, killing at least three people and injuring 21, including the ambassador.
Parts of a body were strewn on the ground in front of the residence, while the body of a man believed to be an embassy security guard lay on the devastated lawn.
"At least three people were killed in the explosion." Edi Supriyadi, an official of the Jakarta municipal municipality told reporters at the scene.
The ambassador, Leonides Caday, was in a car entering the residence when the bomb went off.
Menteng police Assistant Superintendant Paulus Waterpauw said be believed the bomb was not inside the car.
"Exactly where the bomb was planted is not known yet, but it is unlikely that the bomb was in the car, because if it had been in the car, it would have destroyed it completely," Waterpauw said.
Philippine Vice-President Gloria Arroyo condemned the bombing as "a senseless terrorist act that will achieve nothing for its perpetrators."
The main Muslim separatist group in the Philippines denied that it was behind the attack.
Eid Kabalu, spokesman for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) told AFP that, "the MILF is definitely not involved in this attack against a Philippine diplomat in a Muslim country".
He added that the organization did not have the capability to mount bomb attacks in a foreign country.
The Philippine government has blamed the MILF for a series of bomb attacks in the southern Philippines and in the Philippine capital in recent months.
The ambassador was being treated for two broken thigh bones but his life was not in danger, the acting director of the Cipto Mangunkusumo state hospital, I. Chamsyah, said.
Caday was later moved on a stretcher, one bloodied hand hanging from the side, to the private Medistra hospital in South Jakarta.
Chamsyah said one dead woman, whose identity was unknown, had been brought to the hospital morgue from the blast site, and that 20 other victims were being treated at Cipto Mangunkusumo.
All, except a 30-year-old security guard who was in a coma and in a critical condition, were "in good condition and conscious."
He said they most suffered injuries to the legs, arms and head.
Embassy officials who had rushed to the scene said they had no idea how many were killed, but a neighbor said one security guard was dead, and the driver of the ambassador's car, which was burning outside the gate, was also killed.
Indonesian strongman Suharto was questioned in the complex over his father's alleged corruption while in office.
Indonesia has been facing a series of security crises -- separatist rebellions in Aceh and Irian Jaya provinces and deadly Muslim-Christian fighting in the Malukus islands - JAKARTA (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
