Can you feel it? The Christmas cheer just keeps spreading in Indonesia. From AP, with thanks to JE:
JAKARTA, Indonesia – Bomb squads searched for explosives Saturday at churches in the capital Jakarta and its satellite cities hours before Christmas Eve celebrations amid fears that terrorists might carry out attacks to mar the holiday.
Police Lt. Sulianto, who uses only one name, told The Associated Press that 80 bomb squads were being deployed at dozens of churches in Jakarta, Bekasi, Tangerang and Depok….
The Southeast Asian terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah have been blamed for at least five suicide bombings targeting Western interests since 2002 “” including Oct. 1 restaurant attacks on Bali island “” that together killed more than 240 people.
It is also accused in Christmas Eve church bombings five years ago that left 19 dead.
Sulianto said his men also will sweep two main Catholic Cathedral Church and Protestant Immanuel Church, both located in downtown Jakarta. Some 15,000 churchgoers are expected to worship at the churches on Christmas Eve….
Tens of thousands of police are on duty nationwide, and churches in many Indonesian towns have been checked, intelligence officials said. In Poso, where three Christian schoolgirls were beheaded last October, police tightly guarded dozens of churches.