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JAKARTA: Indonesian police found possible explosive powder as they investigated explosions at a mosque in the capital Jakarta, and the suspected perpetrator is recovering, the police chief said on Saturday (Nov 8). Explosions that injured dozens of people during Friday prayers could have been an attack, officials said, with a 17-year-old student the suspected perpetrator. "Several pieces of supporting evidence were found," police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo told a press conference after visiting the victims at a hospital. "There were written materials and some powder that could have potentially caused an explosion," he said. "We are gathering other records, including examining social media and family members to gather all the information." The suspected perpetrator, a student at a school next to the mosque, was recovering after undergoing surgery on Friday, Listyo said. "The suspect's condition is improving, and hopefully this will make things easier for us when needed." A photo of a purported rifle found at the scene was circulated on social media after the blasts, but the authorities have said it is a toy gun. Some local news reports said the toy weapon purportedly contained inscriptions with white supremacist slogans and a reference to Brenton Tarrant, who killed 51 people in a terrorist attack on two mosques in New Zealand in 2019. Indonesian authorities had urged against speculation before the police investigation is completed. "Don't jump to the conclusion that this is a terrorist act," Lodewijk Freidrich Paulus, deputy coordinating minister of politics and security, was quoted as saying by the Antara state news agency, adding that a probe was underway. Police said a total of 55 people were admitted to hospitals after the incident at the mosque in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. Witnesses told local television stations that they heard at least two loud blasts around midday, just as the Friday sermon had started at the mosque at SMA 72, a state high school. The site is on largely navy-owned land, and is home to many military personnel and retired officers.
