10,000 'bombs' Found Meant For Fishing, Not Terror

Aug 15 2007 (TODAY)

JAKARTA - Police investigating a deadly blast in a coastal Indonesian town
have discovered 10,000 semi-finished bombs intended for fishing, they said
yesterday.

The blast in Pasuruan, East Java, killed three people and triggered
speculation of a link to Islamic militants, before police said explosives
intended for fishing caused the tragedy.

"In total, the evidence we have gathered includes 45kg of TNT, 8,000
detonators and some 10,000 bombs for fishing," national police spokesman
Sisno Adiwinoto said.

The bombs were found in a house near one destroyed by Saturday's explosion
and were intended for fishing as "they are packaged differently than those
of terrorists", he said.

The spokesman declined to give details about the possible source of the
TNT found in the town, which is about 50km south-east of Surabaya.

Officers have previously made multiple arrests in East Java of Islamic
militants accused of carrying out attacks, which led to the speculation of
a link to extremists.

Police are intensifying their investigations into the origins of the
explosives found at the site.

TNT, usually used by the military, has been known to be used in Pasuruan
since at least 2005. Previously, the dominant explosive used by fishermen
was potassium chlorate, calcium chlorate and calcium nitrate mixed with
other ingredients. Those materials could easily explode when shaken or
exposed to fire, high temperatures or pressure. - AGENCIES