Bicycle Bomb in Bekasi

A bicycle is the most safest means of transportation, because we can ride on it without using any fuel, thus saving our environment from any pollution.

But yesterday, I learned that a bicycle can also be used to injure or kill people, i.e. after I heard the news about the explosion of a home made bomb strapped to the back of a bicycle in Bekasi, Wwsta Java (town outside Jakarta), badly injuring the rider of said bicycle i.e Ahmad.
More story about the bicycle bomber can be read on the article (below) quoted from The Jakarta Globe.

Considering that the alleged Bicycle Bomber carried two threatening letters, and location of explosion was near two Policemen, I wonder whether the bomb was targeted at the Police.

Bicycle Bomber No Terror Expert, Bekasi Police Say
Ulma Haryano, Farouk Arnaz & Zaky Pawas | October 01, 2010

Jakarta. A man who allegedly tried to blow up two policemen in a botched suicide attack in Bekasi on Thursday was an amateur, police said.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Iskandar Hasan said the suspect, identified only as Ahmad, was in critical condition as officers investigated possible links to terror networks.

“What he did is still categorized as terror, no matter what the background. We are still investigating what his motive was, and where he managed to get a homemade bomb,” Iskandar said.

The 38-year-old man, described by police as a drifter who moved from one mosque to another, suffered serious injuries to his face, neck and torso in the blast and broke his right arm and leg.

Iskandar said it appeared Ahmad had sought to kill himself and Adj. Comr Herry Azhari and Second. Brig. Sugianto, who were unharmed in the attack.

The officers were stationed at the Sumber Artha traffic police post, near Sumber Artha market in Kalimalang, Bekasi.

People had seen Ahmad “roaming around the area for the past five days,” Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said.

Iskandar said that just before the blast, Herry had told Ahmad not to ride his ontel (vintage bicycle) on the sidewalk.

“Ahmad then lost control of his bicycle and hit the road divider and the crude bomb detonated,” he said. “We do not know whether the bomb detonated prematurely or not.”

Police said the bomb contained about 50 nails and gunpowder.

They added that Ahmad was carrying two suicide notes.

One of them read: “This bomb is for all you kafirs [infidels]! We will come chasing after you even if you run up to the clouds. Your death is certain. Mujahideens are still living in Indonesia.”

University of Indonesia criminologist Erlangga Masdiana agreed with the police view that the attack was amateurish.

“Real terrorists have clear goals,” he said.

“Unclear ones are usually only for sabotage. Of course every terrorist attack has a message, but it will not be on a piece of paper and very much obvious to regular people.”

He also pointed out the attack came days after the police, military and lawmakers had been talking about the need to cooperate in the war on terror.

“There is a strong suspicion that the person was just being used in order to achieve a certain agenda,” he said. “A real terrorist would not be that clumsy.”

Erlangga dismissed the idea that the target had been the traffic police as they were not a threat to terrorist movements.

The International Crisis Group’s Sidney Jones gave examples in which terrorist groups had hit back against law officers.

“We’ve seen policemen killed in March and April in Kebumen and Purwerojo, retaliation against prosecutors in Poso and plans from other terrorist in Indonesia for attacks that were never carried out on the National Police,” Sidney said.

She said the attack by 10 gunmen that killed three policemen in Medan last month was retaliation. “We can’t accuse the police of being lax. All terrorist attacks are difficult to predict.”

Ismail Hasani, a researcher with the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy, said Thursday’s incident further highlighted weakness in the country’s intelligence-gathering efforts.

He believed there was an “internal tug-of-war” between antiterror squad Densus 88, the police and the military over how to deal with terrorists.

The botched bombing came on the same day Densus 88 chief Brig. Gen. Tito Karnavian was replaced by his deputy, Sr. Comr. Muhammad Syafii.

Tito will be the top deputy at the new National Anti-Terrorism Agency (BNPT).

The body, which answers only to the president, is charged with preventing terrorism, protecting civilians, deradicalizing terrorists and building national preparedness.