UK Jakarta embassy evacuated

The British embassy in Indonesia was evacuated yesterday after a suspicious item was mailed to the mission, but police said it was only a personal package that contained a disc player and biscuits.

Militants linked to al Qaeda have carried out several major bombings against Western targets in the past few years in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation. The government has warned that militants were planning more attacks.

Adjutant Commissioner Gatot Kristianto, head of police security for foreign embassies, said the package was mailed from central Java to a local employee at the mission.

"When it was scanned, security guards saw a cable so they suspected it was an explosive device. After the bomb squad checked it, they found no explosives. It contained a Walkman, biscuits and some cashew nuts," said Mr Kristianto.

British embassy press officer Faye Belnis said the mission had been evacuated as a precaution. It was unclear if staff had returned to work.

Security is tight at most Western embassies in Jakarta, especially in the wake of a suicide bomb attack last September outside the Australian embassy that killed 10 people.

Police have blamed the shadowy group Jemaah Islamiah for that bombing, as well as other attacks. Jemaah Islamiah is seen as the Southeast Asian arm of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.