Bali blast probe moves forward

A'an Suryana and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Kuta, Bali

The grueling investigation into the Bali bombings is far from over, but a joint multinational team completed on Tuesday its forensic exam of the blast sites.

Beginning on Wednesday, the team will confine itself to work at the police forensic lab in Bali to determine how the bombs were exploded, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Edward Aritonang said.

"We have been able to determine the timing of the bombs, where the bombs exploded and the specifications of the bombs. But we are still in the dark as to how the bombs were exploded," Aritonang told a joint press conference.

According to Aritonang, the team is now focusing its investigation on how the bombs were set off.

"Whether detonators, sound, vibration or some other method was used (to detonate the bombs) is something we are still investigating," he said

The investigation into the bombings, which left 190 dead, is being carried out by a 126-member multinational team led by the Indonesian police.

Team members' expertise covers forensics, intelligence and explosives.

At a press conference earlier in the day, Aritonang denied reports that a United Nations team also was taking part in the investigation.

"As far as I know, there is no member of the UN taking part in this investigation," he said.

Regarding the bomb that exploded in front of the Sari Club, Aritonang said there were no conflicting statements coming from him and the Australian police.

"The type of bomb was RDX, while its derivative consists of ammonium nitrate," said Aritonang.

Also speaking at the press conference, Brett Swan of the Australian Federal Police said questionnaires had been sent to victims and families of victims in Australia.

According to Swan, the responses to the questionnaires allowed the Australian police to identify some 400 to 450 potential witnesses, who could be questioned to add information to the police's existing data on the case.

Swan also said some evidence had been taken to Canberra to be examined, including personal items of the victims and fingerprints.

Canberra has the largest Disaster Victims Identification unit in the southern hemisphere.

Discussing Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, a Muslim cleric arrested for his alleged role in a series of bombings on Christmas Eve in 2000, Aritonang said the police would only question him about the Bali attack if they found any evidence that pointed to him in the case.

Aritonang also confirmed that the police had drawn a sketch of a man believed to be a potential suspect.

"It will be useful to help witnesses identify the person," he said.

But Aritonang refused to confirm if the person was a suspect in the blasts.

The officer also said that judging from the explosives used, the Bali bombings shared similarities with other explosions across Java. However, Aritonang refused to link the Bali attack with other bombings in the country, including the Jakarta Stock Exchange blast in September 2000.

Intelligence sources have said that the perpetrators of the Bali bombings belonged to the same group who exploded a bomb at the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta two years ago.

"The kind of bomb materials, that is 90 percent RDX, also known as C4, is similar to that used at the Philippine Embassy," the sources said.

C4, which is produced in the U.S., can only enter the country with the approval of security authorities, although it can be purchased on the black market.