Local residents found the suspicious package with attached wires and wrapped in a plastic bag, on the sidewalk of Jl. Pulau Buru in Poso at 8 a.m. on Friday. The residents immediately reported the find to a police post located 100 meters from the site.

Police personnel cordoned off the area as members of the Police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) bomb squad examined the package. The officers carried out a controlled explosion on the suspect device. The device was found to be a deliberate hoax, operational division head of Poso Police Adj. Cmr. Mulyadi said on Friday.

The incident caused fear among residents and disrupted their daily activities, Mulyadi added.

"This is the second such hoax [this week]. The Police still continue the investigation to find out who is behind these terrorist activities in Poso," he said as quoted by Kompas.com.

The Central Sulawesi Police's Indonesia Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (Inafis) personnel examined the scene and the remains of the device were taken to Brimob Detachment B's headquarters in Poso for further investigation.

On Wednesday a suspicious package was left at the gates of the Poso office of the National Committee of Indonesian Youth (KNPI) on Jl. Yos Sudarso.

A resident discovered the package, also with wires attached and wrapped in a black plastic bag, as he dumped garbage. 

Poso has been the scene of Operation Tinombala, a major joint operation between the National Police and Indonesian Military (TNI) involving at least 3,000 personnel, since January. The operation is designed to capture members of the East Indonesia Mujahidin terrorist group (MIT) led by most-wanted terrorist suspect Santoso, aka Abu Wardah. The group, whose members have been reduced to 22, is believed to be hiding in mountainous terrain in Poso. (afr/rin)

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