Bomb explodes in Paris

2004-10-08 09:29

Paris - A small device planted outside the Indonesian Embassy in Paris exploded early on Friday, slightly injuring nine people, including four embassy workers, authorities said.

French Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin said a rigged package exploded at the base of a flag pole in front of the embassy in Paris' exclusive 16th district.

The blast also damaged cars and blew a small crater in front of the embassy, which was blocked off by police shortly after the 05:00 explosion.

Most of the injured people were hurt by flying glass, the interior minister said.

Overnight attacks in Egypt

Authorities were at a loss to explain why the embassy was targeted.

"To our knowledge, there were no specific threats," Villepin said. He added that there had been overnight attacks in Egypt, but he was careful not to draw any links between the two attacks.

A woman who lives near the embassy said she heard a loud noise and immediately thought it was a bomb.

"I had the impression that I was being hurled from my apartment," said Annie Mayret. Windows from her residence were blown out by the strong force of the explosion. Shattered glass carpeted the street for at least 30 metres.

She said the blast set off the alarms in boutiques in the area. Witnesses said the explosion was so strong that it caused nearby apartment buildings to tremble.

Indonesia is preparing to inaugurate a new leader following President Megawati Sukarnoputri's defeat in an election last month.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won a landslide victory on September 20. The United States-educated retired army general, who was to be inaugurated on October 20, pledged during the campaign to fight terrorism.

The country was hit by three major attacks by Muslim terrorists during Megawati's tenure, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, most of them foreign tourists.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, opposed the war in Iraq and has been a vocal critic of the US occupation.

- AP