The 2004 Poso bus bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred in

Central Sulawesi Central Sulawesi (Indonesian: ''Sulawesi Tengah'') is a province of Indonesia located at the centre of the island of Sulawesi. The administrative capital and largest city is located in Palu. The 2010 census recorded a population of 2,635,009 for ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, on 13 November 2004. It targeted a bus travelling to the majority

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

village of Silancak. The bomb, an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...

, exploded at 9:15 a.m. (UTC+7), while the minibus was stopped at a market in

Poso Poso ( Old Spelling: ''Posso'') is the administrative capital of Poso Regency, Indonesia. It is the main port and transportation hub for the central-southern coast of Central Sulawesi. Its urban area consists of three districts, Poso Kota, North ...

. Six people were killed and three injured in the blast. Witnesses later reported that three people were involved in the attack. Two suspects were detained, but later released.

The attack

According to the police report, witnesses saw three people working together to place an unidentified object in a minibus parked near the traditional market (also 50 metres from a police station) in Poso, then left. A male planted the device, while two women served as

lookout A lookout or look-out is a person in charge of the observation of hazards. The term originally comes from a naval background, where lookouts would watch for other ships, land, and various dangers. The term has now passed into wider parlance. ...

s. The object, apparently an improvised explosive device, detonated at approximately 9:15 a.m., killing three of the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

passengers instantly, with another three dying of their wounds in the hospital; they had been travelling from their predominantly Christian village of Sape to the nearby village of Tentenna. The timing of the attack coincided with a busy period in the market to celebrate the

Eid ul-Fitr , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , dat ...

festival that was to happen the following week. The motive for the attack is unknown. Chief Security Minister Adi Sucipto described it as an act of terrorism, preceded by numerous others in the year prior to the attack that caused 25 deaths. On 19 November 2004, two male suspects were arrested for the attacks after a search for two men seen leaving the scene by motorcycle. Both were released without charge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poso bus bombing Mass murder in 2004 2004 crimes in Indonesia Car and truck bombings in Indonesia History of Central Sulawesi Terrorist incidents in Indonesia in 2004

The attack

See also

References