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n expert says the Islamic State of Indonesia (NII) movement may be behind what the police say was a likely Molotov cocktail attack on a Bank BNI ATM in Bandung on Thursday morning.

There were no casualties and the money in the ATM, located inside the Rabbani Muslim clothing store on Jl. Dipatiukur in Bandung, was undamaged, according to reports.

Two security guards were talking in front of the building when the bomb exploded in an ATM booth located outside the building.

“As we were chatting, we heard a loud explosion. We thought it was the sound of a car accident or a fire. When we inspected where the sound came from, we saw fire burning inside the ATM booth. We immediately took a hose from a fire hydrant and doused the fire,” Ahmad Sulaeman, one of security guards, said.

Officers from the Bandung and West Java Police arrived at the bank around 3 a.m., establishing a cordon around the crime scene and starting an investigation.

According to a forensics team from the Bandung and West Java Police, footage from the CCTV camera in the ATM booth showed a possible suspect in the bombing: a man between 20 and 30 years of age, wearing sneakers, dark pants and a black jacket.

Al Chaidar, a terrorism expert from Malikussaleh University in Aceh, said the attack was likely an act of terrorism carried out by a faction of the outlawed Islamic State of Indonesia (NII) movement that recruits young people with left-leaning views.

A note found at the scene may indicate the bomber’s identity. Bearing a star-shaped logo and the phrase “International Conspiracy for Revenge”, the note said the ATM was bombed since banks were an important target and were involved in financing natural resource exploitation while oppressing people.

“PT Indomining (BIMA) has brutally repressed the local people; PT Jogja Mangasa International wish to expel 50,000 farmers from Kulon
-progo; Takalar farmers are at risk of losing their land, and all these things are carried out in a brutal manner, including shooting, terror, sexual harassment and various kinds of oppression which we never hear of from the media. No wonder that the corporations, bureaucrats and capitalists do not care about anything other than just enriching themselves!”

The message ended with a claim that the bomb was not intended to hurt anyone. “There is no forgiveness for oppressors! No mercy for the state and capitalism! The state, military institution, police and financiers are the real terrorists!”

West Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Putut Eko Bayuseno said that while no explosives were found on the scene, investigators discovered a long wick and a plastic bottle that smelled of gasoline — indications that the attacker used a Molotov cocktail to blow up the ATM.

“Based on our preliminary analysis, the fire caused a short-circuit in the air conditioner,” Putut said.

The ensuing explosion knocked the ATM booth’s door off its hinges and propelled it 10 meters away.