Deadly explosion on Java
By Kenneth Conboy
This afternoon at 1420, a large explosion ripped through a low-income housing complex in Pasuruan district on the Indonesian island of Java. Two persons were killed, two homes destroyed, and four others damaged. After the Indonesian police told local media that the blast was likely the result of high explosives, and after it became known the home's owner was an Islamic teacher, there was early speculation that the explosion might be linked to religious extremists. The media is now reporting, however, that fish bombs were thought to be stored in the premises and there had been two earlier explosions at the same locale. Although fish bombings is illegal in Indonesia, it is a common practice among traditional fishermen; indeed, the vast majority of explosives seized in Indonesia in recent years have been linked to fish bombs, not extremists.