Three coordinated attacks on public buses in Poso, Central Sulawesi killed 7 and wounded 26, highlighting sectarian violence in the region.
Key Facts
- Total killed
- 7 people
- Total wounded
- 26 people
- Number of attacks
- 3 attacks
- Attack period
- 5 June – 8 August 2002
- Foreign victim
- 1 Italian tourist killed in third attack
- First attack casualties
- 5 killed, 17 wounded
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Poso, Central Sulawesi had experienced prolonged sectarian conflict between Christian and Muslim communities in the early 2000s. This environment of intercommunal violence provided the backdrop for coordinated terrorist attacks targeting civilian public transport infrastructure along the Palu–Poso–Tentena corridor.
Between 5 June and 8 August 2002, three separate terrorist attacks targeted public buses in Central Sulawesi. The first involved a bomb on an Antariksa bus killing four; the second was a booby-trapped bag on the trans-Sulawesi highway killing an 18-year-old; the third involved automatic weapons fire into a bus, killing an Italian tourist and wounding at least four Indonesians.
The attacks killed seven people and wounded twenty-six, including an Italian national, drawing international attention to instability in Central Sulawesi. The incidents underscored the severity of terrorist activity in the region and added pressure on Indonesian authorities to address sectarian violence and militant networks operating in Poso.