Police: Suspected grenade blast near Indonesia’s presidential palace

An explosion
of a suspected smoke grenade on Tuesday at a park near Indonesia’s presidential
palace injured at least two military personnel, Jakarta’s police chief said.

However,
President Joko Widodo was not at the palace at the time, a presidential
spokesman said.

It was not
immediately clear if the blast was the result of a factional attack, but
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, has suffered a recovery
in homegrown militancy in recent years.

The
explosion took place  at 7:15 am on the
north side of the park, was thought to have been caused by a smoke grenade,
Jakarta police chief Gatot Eddy Pramono told a televised news conference.

It injured
two military personnel who were there for exercise, Jakarta military chief Eko
Margiyono said, adding that they were taken to hospital and were conscious.

Asked if the
blast was the result of an attack, Pramono responded, “We haven’t concluded so,
because we’re still investigating.”

Within three
hours, authorities had reopened the park area where the blast took place,
across the street from the headquarters of Indonesia’s home ministry.