Al-Ghozi admits to role in Philippine Embassy bombing
Al-Ghozi admits to role in Philippine Embassy bombing
Jim Gomez, Associated Press, Manila
An Indonesian man convicted of possessing explosives in the
Philippines has allegedly admitted to detonating a bomb in
Jakarta, which killed two people and seriously injured the
Filipino ambassador three years ago, police said on Sunday.
Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi made the admission to Indonesian police
investigators, who interrogated him recently in Manila,
Philippine police intelligence director Robert Delfin said.
He said al-Ghozi confessed that he detonated the bomb by
remote control outside the Jakarta residence of Philippine
Ambassador Leonides Caday in August 2000.
"He made the confession because he was confronted with
testimonies of other people who pointed to him as the bomber,"
Delfin told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
Philippine police officials were present during the
questioning, he said.
Al-Ghozi allegedly fled on a motorcycle after the attack with
a companion, the Philippine Star newspaper quoted another police
intelligence official, Jaime Caringal, as saying on Sunday.
Delfin said it was up to Indonesian authorities whether to
file charges against al-Ghozi in connection with the bomb attack.
Al-Ghozi was not immediately available for comment.
In Jakarta, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Edward
Aritonang refused to comment on al-Ghozi's confession, saying
that the National Police had yet to receive a formal report from
the detectives sent to Manila to question al-Ghozi.
Edward told The Jakarta Post three police detectives have been
in the Philippines for two weeks to quiz al-Ghozi and another
Indonesian detained in Manila, Agus Dwikarna, for their alleged
roles in a series of bomb attacks in Indonesia between 2000 and
2002.
Al-Ghozi, who was arrested in Manila in January last year,
pleaded guilty to charges of possessing explosives in the
Philippines last April and was sentenced to 10 to 12 years in
prison.
Philippine police claim al-Ghozi is a member of Jamaah
Islamiyah (JI), a regional Islamic extremist group linked to al-
Qaeda. Jamaah Islamiyah has been blamed for the bombings in Bali,
which killed 202 people last October.
Authorities have also linked al-Ghozi to bombings that killed
22 people in Manila on Dec. 30, 2000.
Authorities in the Philippines and Singapore have also
implicated al-Ghozi in alleged attempts by Jamaah Islamiyah to
bomb the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Manila, as well as western
targets in Singapore.