Indonesia police arrest house-owner for blast

PASURUAN, Indonesia, Aug 12 (Reuters) Police have arrested the owner of a house in Indonesia's West Java province after explosives, believed to be used for catching fish, went off killing three people, the provincial police chief said today.

Herman Sumawiredja told a news conference that the blast which ripped through several houses in the coastal town of Pasuruan yesterday did not appear to be a terrorist act.

Indonesia has suffered a wave of bombings blamed on Islamic militants linked to the Jemaah Islamiah militant group in recent years.

''Our preliminary conclusion is that the motive for making this bomb is to catch fish. There's no link to terrorism,'' Sumawiredja said.

Using explosives to catch fish is common practice in Indonesia, even though it is illegal.

Police were looking for another man believed to have made the device, the police chief said.

REUTERS SW VC1145