Makassar bomber 'among three killed'
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.
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.