The 2005 Palu market bombing occurred on 31 December 2005, in

Palu Palu, which is officially known as the City of Palu ( Indonesian: ''Kota Palu''), is the capital and largest city of Central Sulawesi. Palu is located on the northwestern coast of Sulawesi and borders Donggala Regency to the north and west, Par ...

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 fo ...

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 ...

. 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 mecha ...

, described as a

nail bomb A nail bomb is an anti-personnel explosive device containing nails to increase its effectiveness at harming victims. The nails act as shrapnel, leading almost certainly to more injury in inhabited areas than the explosives alone would. A nai ...

or similar, detonated around 7:00 a.m. within a

butcher's market mostly frequented by

Christians 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'' (Χρ ...

shopping for New Year's Eve celebrations, killing eight people and wounding a further 53. The bomb detonated within a partially enclosed butcher's shop that sold

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

and

dog meat Dog meat is the flesh and other edible parts derived from dogs. Historically, human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world. During the 19th century westward movement in the United States, ''mountainmen'', native ...

direct to the public, both of which are forbidden under Islamic custom. A second explosive device was reportedly discovered around four metres from the initial blast site, nearby a stall selling

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

, and defused. The target, a market in a district dominated by the mostly Christian

Minahasa The Minahasans (alternative spelling: Minahassa) are an ethnic group native to the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia, formerly known as North Celebes. The Minahasa people sometimes refer to themselves as Manado people. Although the Minahasan p ...

ethnic group, may have been selected to maximize Christian casualties, as

province had previously been the site of significant

sectarian violence Sectarian violence and/or sectarian strife is a form of communal violence which is inspired by sectarianism, that is, discrimination, hatred or prejudice between different sects of a particular mode of an ideology or different sects of a religion ...

between Christian and Muslim factions that claimed over a thousand lives between 1998 and 2002. The conflict had largely been concentrated around the Poso region of the province and Palu had largely been spared wide scale violence and then Indonesian Security Minister Widodo Adisucipto suggested

Jemaah Islamiyah Jemaah Islamiyah ( ar, الجماعة الإسلامية, ''al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmiyyah'', meaning "Islamic Congregation", frequently abbreviated JI) is a Southeast Asian militant extremist Islamist terrorist group based in Indonesia, which i ...

may have been responsible for the attack, because it is related to the death of Dr. Azahari in an ambush at

Batu, East Java Batu, officially the City of Batu ( id, Kota Batu, jv, ꦏꦸꦛꦧꦠꦸ), is a landlocked city in the East Java Province of Indonesia. It is about 20 km to the northwest of Malang. Formerly, it was a part of Malang Regency; but in 2001, Bat ...

9 November Events Pre-1600 * 694 – At the Seventeenth Council of Toledo, Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims, sentencing all Jews to slavery. *1277 – The Treaty of Aberconwy, a humiliating settlement ...

2005 ago.

The attack

The device, described as home-made and low-explosive, detonated at 7:05 a.m. within a meat stall in front of a house used for the slaughter of

pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

and opposite the Bethel

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

in the Maesa subdistrict, south of

. Police officials stated the bomb was filled with

nail Nail or Nails may refer to: In biology * Nail (anatomy), toughened protective protein-keratin (known as alpha-keratin, also found in hair) at the end of an animal digit, such as fingernail * Nail (beak), a plate of hard horny tissue at the tip ...

s and

ball bearing A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races. The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this ...

s, and most of the victims suffered injuries to their limbs due to the

shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...

from the device. Bystanders are described as having carried the wounded from the makeshift market to a road, and placing them in passing cars to be taken to local hospitals, where at least 20 shoppers were treated for serious injuries in the attack. Several of the fatalities were identified as Bambang Wiyono Saputra (50), Yakulina Tana (45), Agustina Mande (37) the owners of the stall, Yoppie (42) and his wife Meisye (39) and a member of the Intelligence Unit of the Tadulako District Army Command, Sgt. Tasman Lahansang.

Investigation

Following the attack, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono denounced the bombing and conveyed his

condolences Condolences (from Latin ''con'' (with) + ''dolore'' (sorrow)) are an expression of sympathy to someone who is experiencing pain arising from death, deep mental anguish, or misfortune. When individuals condole, or offer their condolences to a par ...

to the families of the victims.

Roadblock A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. The reasons for one could be: *Roadworks *Temporary road closure during special events *Police chase *Robbery * Sobriety checkpoint In peaceful circumstances ...

s were established in the Palu region and a team from Criminal Investigation Agency (''Bareskrim''), was deployed directly to

to aid the ongoing investigation. A single person was

arrested An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questi ...

the same day, according to a report by provincial police chief Oegroseno, although it was unclear whether he was a direct suspect, police would only say that he had been acting suspiciously and asked vendors where they lived. Convicted terrorist financier Eko Budi Wardoyo is suspected of involvement in the

market bombing following his involvement in the murder of Reverend Susianti Tinulele, a female pastor killed on 18 July 2004 during an attack on a South Palu

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

that also wounded four teenagers. Wardoyo was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in 2010 for funding that attack and giving assistance to the criminals found responsible for the 2005 Tentena market bombings that claimed 22 lives on 28 May 2005. Another bomb was discovered among street vendors near Palu Plaza during the Idul Fitri festival in 2008 and detonated by the local Palu bomb squad without incident.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palu market bombing Attacks in Asia in 2005 Attacks during the New Year celebrations Marketplace attacks in Asia Mass murder in 2005 Terrorist incidents in Indonesia in 2005 2005 crimes in Indonesia Improvised explosive device bombings in Indonesia Islamic terrorism in Indonesia Islamic terrorist incidents in 2005 Persecution of Christians in Indonesia December 2005 events in Asia Building bombings in Indonesia