Sketches of bomber released<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Police have moved quickly in their investigation into the
\nbombing of the JW Marriott Hotel by releasing three composite
\nsketches of the man who purchased the 1986 metallic blue Toyota
\nKijang minivan used in Tuesday's outrage.<\/p>\n
National Police detectives' chief Insp. Gen. Erwin Mapasseng
\ntold the press that the sketches were made based on the
\ndescription given by the van's former owner.<\/p>\n
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar had said after the
\nbombing that police had found the minivan's license plates,
\nengine and chassis number.<\/p>\n
These led police to the former owner of the van, Sonny, a
\nresident of Jl. Cempaka in Cibubur, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
As in the case of last year's Bali bombings, the minivan's
\nchassis number had been erased by grinding. The police, however,
\nwere able to ascertain it using special forensic techniques.<\/p>\n
\"He (Sonny) just sold the 1986 Toyota Kijang minivan two weeks
\nago ... Unfortunately, he failed to identify the buyer or his
\naddress. Even the buyer's name is not on the receipt,\" Erwin
\nsaid, adding that Sony had sold the car for only Rp 26 million
\n(US$3,006).<\/p>\n
The police sketches show the wanted man to be around 160
\ncentimeters in height, with dowdy hair, rather hunched in
\nappearance, and with no moustache or beard. He is estimated to be
\naround 30 years old and is suspected of being from Lampung.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Wednesday, Da'i said the device used in the bombing
\ncontained a mixture of low explosives, and the high explosives
\nRDX, HMX and TNT.<\/p>\n
Similar materials were used in the Bali bombings on Oct. 12,
\n2002. A total of 202 people, mostly Western holidaymakers, were
\nkilled in the tragedy while around 300 other people were injured.<\/p>\n
Traces of the same materials were also found in front of the
\nresidence of the Philippines' Ambassador Leonides T. Caday, which
\nwas hit by a bomb blast on Aug. 1, 2000. Two people were killed
\nwhile 21 others were injured in that explosion.<\/p>\n
Police believed that Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), officially listed
\nby the United Nations as a regional terrorist network, was behind
\nthese bombings.<\/p>\n
One of the Bali bombing suspects, Amrozi, is expected to hear
\nwhether he has been convicted or acquitted by the court on
\nThursday in Denpasar, Bali.<\/p>\n
Da'i said that the bomb was also surrounded by four jerrycans
\ncontaining gasoline so as to create a fireball effect.<\/p>\n
\"One of the jerrycans was blown by the blast into Plaza
\nMutiara, where it exploded. The police found six bodies there,\"
\nsaid Erwin.<\/p>\n
He also said that the explosives used in the bombing were
\nsimilar to those seized earlier by police in Semarang from
\nsuspected JI members.<\/p>\n
Forensic experts were still calculating the total amount of
\nexplosives used in the Marriott bombing.<\/p>\n
Erwin said the device had been detonated using a cell phone.
\nHowever, he did not say how this squared up with the earlier
\nstatement by police saying it was a suicide bombing.<\/p>\n
The bomb had been placed behind the steering wheel, he said.<\/p>\n
Police also found various body parts near the epicenter of the
\nblast, and a severed head which was blown by the bomb up to the
\nthird floor.<\/p>\n
\"We have obtained a complete set of fingerprints but found
\nnothing to match them in our databank. We are still
\nreconstructing the severed head to try to get some idea of who
\nthe person was,\" Erwin said.<\/p>\n
Regarding the various figures bandied about regarding the
\nnumber of fatalities, police officially announced that 10 people
\nhad died, including the bomber, while 149 other people were
\ninjured.<\/p>\n
Erwin was surprised to learn about the report carried by
\nSingaporean daily The Strait Times, saying that JI had claimed
\nresponsibility for the bombing.<\/p>\n
\"Despite this report, we are concentrating our investigation
\nfor the moment at the scene of the crime and will act based on
\nthe statements taken from witnesses at the scene. Then, we will
\ncheck out the accuracy of the report,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The National Police are receiving support from the Australian
\nFederal Police, Interpol in Lyon, France, the United States and
\nfrom neighboring countries Malaysia and Singapore.<\/p>\n
\"They have offered help as terrorism is an international
\nproblem,\" Erwin said.<\/p>\n
Following the bombing, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport
\nhas also beefed up security by deploying over 1,000 security
\npersonnel, comprising 670 security guards, 300 police officers
\nand 100 Indonesian Air Force personnel.<\/p>\n
\"PT Angkasa Pura (the airport operator) has also hired an
\nadditional 367 security guards ... We have taken these measure in
\nthe light of the instructions from the Jakarta Police and the
\ncoordinating minister for political and security affairs,\" said
\nRisman Nuryadi, PT Angkasa Pura II manager at Soekarno-Hatta
\nAirport.<\/p>\n
THE JAKARTA POST -- THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2003 -- PAGE 1<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sketches-of-bomber-released-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }