Two bombs were found Wednesday and Thursday in Poso, which lies in Central Sulawesi, in areas popular with migrants from the Hindu-majority island of Bali, local police chief Suparni Parto told AFP.
'I think there is a connection between this and the execution of Amrozi and others,' Chief Parto said, referring to the three death-row bombers - Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra - who are set to be executed as early as Saturday.
Chief Parto refused to specify which group was suspected to be behind the bombs but said there had been protests by Islamist extremists in the region threatening retaliation for the executions.
Around 1,500 police and military personnel have been deployed in Poso to guard against violence in the wake of the executions, Chief Parto said.
The three bombers are awaiting the firing squad over the 2002 bombings of tourist nightspots on Bali that killed 202 people, mainly foreign holidaymakers.
About 1,000 people were killed in violence between Muslims and Christians in Poso and the surrounding district in 2000-2001.
In 2005 Islamic militants were widely condemned after beheading three teenage Christian schoolgirls in Poso and low-level tensions continue to simmer in the region. -- AFP