Makassar bomber 'among three killed'

Jupriadi, The Jakarta Post, Makassar

Police here said on Sunday one of the three people killed in last Thursday's bombing of a McDonald's restaurant in Makassar, South Sulawesi, may have been the bomber, and that they were investigating two men and searching for two others as possible suspects.

One of the bodies found in the fast-food restaurant, a male with extensive injuries to his body, face and hands, may have detonated the bomb, according to South Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani.

He said the police had yet to identify the man, who they believe accidentally killed himself with his own device.

Firman said a forensic examination of the body suggested the man could have been carrying the bomb when it exploded, killing himself and two others and wounding 11 more.

This conclusion was based on the physical condition of the body, with extensive injuries to the front of the body but virtually unscathed on the back.

Investigators released on Sunday a composite sketch of the suspected bomber, saying they were hoping the public could help identify the man.

Firman said police were also questioning two men, identified as Muchtar Daeng Lau, alias Muchtar Daeng Sila, 34, and Ilham, as possible suspects.

Police are also searching for two other possible suspects, identified as Abdul Haris, an activist with the extremist Makassar Muslim Youth Defenders Front, and Agung Hamid, alias Abdul Hamid, alias Abu Hamid, who is believed to be a member of the radical group Laskar Jundullah.

The investigation into the bombings of the McDonald's restaurant and a car dealership also in Makassar has quickly focused on Laskar Jundullah, whose leader, Agus Dwikarna, was sentenced earlier this year in the Philippines to 17 years in prison for the possession of C4 plastic explosives.

Philippine police also accused Agus of being part of Jamaah Islamiyah, a regional terror network suspected of links to al- Qaeda.

Muchtar and Ilham were among 18 people detained by the police for questioning as witnesses in the bombings. This group also includes Agung Hamid's two wives, Panca Budi and Ety Suharti, who were both picked up early on Sunday in separate locations in South Sulawesi.

"It is true that we are investigating two men -- Muchtar and Ilham -- and tracking down two others," Firman said in Makassar.

He also confirmed that police had raided the homes of several Laskar Jundullah activists in Makassar and other towns in the province as part of the investigation.

Firman said the raids complied with "standard police procedures" and were aimed at furthering the investigation.

He said the raids targeted individuals and not Muslims in general, and urged locals to remain calm.

Aswar Hasan, secretary-general of the Committee to Uphold Islamic Sharia (KPSI), a parent organization of Laskar Jundullah, and Abraham Samad, a lawyer for the group, warned the police against violating human rights in pursuing their investigation. The pair also denied the involvement of any KPSI members in the bombings.

The deadly bombing of the McDonald's restaurant, located in the Ratu Indah shopping mall on Jl. Dr. Ratulangi, took place on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Three people died in the explosion -- the unidentified man suspected to be the bomber, 60-year-old Gufron, who was a security guard at the restaurant, and Krisnawati, who was eating at the fast-food outlet.

Less than two hours after the explosion at the McDonald's, a blast tore through a Makassar car dealership owned by Coordinating Minister of People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla, damaging four cars but causing no injuries.

Ten minutes later, a bomb exploded at a small food shop close to the South Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office, about 300 meters from the car dealership. There were no reports of casualties.

Kalla successfully brokered a peace deal in December 2001 to end Muslim-Christian fighting in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso, as well as a separate peace accord last February to stop a sectarian conflict in the Maluku islands.

Sporadic bombings have continued in both regions despite the peace pacts. It remains unclear, however, whether Thursday's explosions were related to the Poso and Maluku conflicts.

Last October, a bomb exploded at a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet in Makassar but no one was injured.

At the time of that earlier explosion, Makassar was one of several cities across Indonesia experiencing angry demonstrations against the U.S.-led military strikes on Afghanistan.

Police are attempting to determine whether these latest explosions in Makassar are linked to the Oct. 12 bombings on the resort island of Bali that killed over 190 people and injured some 300 others, mostly foreigners.

However, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said the bombs used in Makassar were different from those used in the attack on Bali.

An employee at a McDonald's outlet in Makassar reportedly was warned by someone in nearby Bone that the franchise was to be targeted in a blast. Police have determined who sent the message and are tracing him.

Several other locations in Makassar received bomb threats on Thursday, including the Mas Country Club in the Panakkukang area, the Victoria International Hotel and the Al-Markaz Al-Islami Mosque.