Sunday December 24 12:56 PM ET

An Indonesian fireman examines cars destroyed by a bomb blast outside a Catholic school in the capital Jakarta, December 24, 2000. At least two people were killed in a spate of bomb attacks on churches on Christmas Eve in predominantly Muslim Indonesia. (Supri/Reuters)

By Tomi Soetjipto

JAKARTA (Reuters) - At least six people died on Sunday in a spate of Christmas Eve church bombings in mainly Muslim Indonesia, in what appears to be the latest effort to destabilize the president's already shaky rule.

The attacks, timed to strike as churchgoers celebrated mass Sunday night, add to President Abdurrahman Wahid's problems as he struggles to end the political and economic crisis that has racked Indonesia for three years.

Under fire over his mercurial leadership and his failure to make headway in the raft of problems dogging the country, Wahid is facing growing calls to quit or face impeachment.

The close timing of so many blasts in Jakarta and other cities points to a coordinated campaign of terror.

But there was no word on who was responsible.

Hospital workers in the Sumatran city of Pekanbaru said four people were killed and dozens injured in two blasts outside local churches. No other details were immediately available.

Several Cities Hit

Jakarta police spokesman Superintendent Alex Mandaika said two people were killed and five injured in five separate bomb explosions in the capital, including one outside the main Catholic cathedral, across the road from the main mosque.

The official Antara news agency said more bombs had exploded in other parts of the country and officials in the city of Medan said they had found 11 unexploded bombs in Christmas parcels sent to priests.

Antara reported three people died in a bomb blast outside a garage in the west Java city of Bandung, but it was not immediately clear if it was linked to the church attacks.

In Jakarta, police and emergency services blocked off several busy streets around the blasts as firefighters sprayed foam to douse blazes. Clouds of acrid smoke hung over some of the bomb sites.

``The explosion was like a big firecracker and it caused panic inside (the church),'' said one churchgoer at Jakarta's Cathedral. He said the service continued after the priest calmed the crowd.

Indonesians examine cars destroyed by a bomb blast outside a Catholic school in the capital Jakarta, December 24, 2000. At least two people were killed in a spate of bomb attacks on churches on Christmas Eve in predominantly Muslim Indonesia. (Supri/Reuters)

At least one blast appeared to be caused by a car bomb which destroyed several surrounding cars outside a Catholic college in the city center, witnesses said.

In Medan, in North Sumatra, police said they discovered bombs inside Christmas packages which had been sent to various priests in the predominantly Christian city.

``The priests called the police because they heard ticking noises (and) after we unwrapped the packages we found the bombs,'' said North Sumatra police chief Inspector-General Hotman Siagian.

Act Of Terror

``This is clearly an act of terror,'' Siagian said.

Antara also reported bombs had exploded outside churches on Batam island, near Singapore, and the East Java town of Mojokerto.

The attacks follow a series of bomb blasts in Jakarta this year, though none of those had any obvious religious links.

They also come toward the end of the Islamic fasting month which has been marked in Jakarta by a number of attacks by Muslim fundamentalists on bars and nightspots.

Wahid is spending Christmas in the distant and mainly Christian province of Irian Jaya, where a separatist movement is demanding freedom from Jakarta's rule.

The world's fourth most populous country has been plagued by sectarian violence, especially in the eastern spice islands where thousands have died in two years of fighting between Christians and Muslims.