DNA tests confirm Iqbal died in blast
DNA tests confirm Iqbal died in blast
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
DNA tests conducted in Australia have confirmed that suspected suicide bomber Iqbal died in the devastating Bali bombings that killed more than 190 people and injured some 300 others, mostly foreigners, last October.
Based on the tests, which were carried out by the Australian Federal Police laboratories in Canberra, Iqbal died in the blast in Paddy's Cafe, DPA reported, quoting Australia's Sunday Telegraph newspaper.
This could make him Southeast Asia's first suicide bomber, although it may prove impossible to confirm that Iqbal deliberately killed himself by detonating the bomb inside Paddy's on Kuta's entertainment strip.
Authorities found only scant remains of Iqbal's body in the pub.
Police investigating the deadly Bali bomb attacks have said it was not clear whether Iqbal was a suicide bomber or whether he died when the bomb exploded prematurely.
Meanwhile, a man suspected to have been involved in the Bali blasts has been arrested by police in Seruyan regency, Central Kalimantan, Antara reported on Saturday.
The man, said to be Ali Imron, a younger brother of detained prime suspect Amrozi, was reportedly captured last Wednesday in Kuala Pembuang, the capital of Seruyan.
A member of the police team investigating the Bali bombings confirmed the arrest of another suspect in Kuala Pembuang, but declined to give details.
However, Central Kalimantan Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Hariyanto flatly denied the reported arrest.
"It is not true that there was a Bali bomb suspect arrested in Kuala Pembuang. I have verified this report with the local police," he told Antara.
The police are holding 15 out of at least 21 men named as suspects in the savage attacks, and are tracking down the remaining six, including Ali Imron and Dul Matin, one of the alleged bomb makers.
Those being detained in Bali Police Headquarters include Imam Samudra, the alleged mastermind behind the blasts, and Amrozi.
The investigators have linked the tragedy to the Jamaah Islamiyah regional terror network, which foreign security officials say has ties with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, the group blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.