typical.

"INDONESIA tightened security around the president today after threats to his life, while the Australian and US embassies also received threats they would be bombed if the executions of three Bali bombers go ahead.

The threat to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was in an online letter purportedly from the death row Bali bombers, Mukhlas, brother Amrozi and Imam Samudra, presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said.

The letter, posted on an internet website in Indonesian, Arabic and English and dated August, urges Islamist militants to "war against and kill'' Yudhoyono and other senior officials in retaliation for the executions.

"We are taking necessary steps to overcome the threat to the President and officials. This cannot be treated as a mere hoax,'' presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said.

"Around the world, such threats are against the law and are treated as acts of terror,'' Mr Mallarangeng said.

Police earlier announced they were investigating who was behind the letter, which has been on the internet for at least the last month.

A lawyer for the bombers, Fahmi Bachmid, said the letter was not written by his clients.

Security has been boosted across the mainly Muslim archipelago amid fears of reprisal attacks by Islamic militants following the executions, which are expected to happen by firing squad this week.
The threats to the Australian and US embassies, sent by text message to Indonesian police today, sparked a major security operation to ensure the sites were safe.

No bombs were found.

The three bombers have warned that others will carry out revenge attacks if they are put to death.

Security forces are on high alert across Indonesia, with the executions expected any day.

The threat reportedly said: "I have put TNT bombs around the US and Australian embassies. I will pull the trigger if Amrozi and his friends are executed''.

"We are investigating. We are tracking who sent the SMS, but nothing has been found so far,'' Indonesian police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira said.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said "threats of this nature are not unexpected in the current circumstances''.

It said the embassy was in close contact with Indonesian authorities about security issues.

A US embassy spokesman confirmed a threat had been received, and said the embassy was working closely with local police.

The 2002 Bali attacks targeted nightspots packed with Western tourists, killing 202 people including 88 Australians and 38 Indonesians.

The bombers said the attacks were revenge for US aggression in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Australia has warned citizens against travel to Indonesia, and the United States - which lost seven nationals in the attack - has warned Americans in the country to "maintain a low profile''.

About 30 Islamic radicals arrived at Mukhlas and Amrozi's home village of Tenggulun, east Java, around dawn yesterday and denounced the executions as murder.

"There are hundreds of us waiting to come... If Amrozi is executed a thousand more will come,'' said Mr  Abdulrahim, a member of the group led by radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.

Mr Bashir is one of the founders of the Jemaah Islamiah regional terror network, which is blamed for the Bali bombings and other attacks across South-East Asia. "


http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24604857-5003402,00.html

go on Abu, tell us how "that is not islam", or "it is the jews" or some other such carp.

Sprint, this is a case of Muslims trying to riegn in their own extremists. It is a good sign.