Marriott suspects say more attacks planned
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Bandung/Cirebon
Two JW Marriott Hotel bombing suspects, who were arrested on Wednesday morning, told police that their cohorts were planning more bomb attacks in the country, National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said here on Thursday.
The suspects, Tohir alias Masrizal and Ismail alias Ricky Putranto, said the bombing plans had been organized by Dr. Azahari bin Husin, a former Malaysian professor of statistics at the Malaysian Institute of Technology who is still on the run and wanted in connection for his roles in the Marriott and the Bali attacks.
Azahari and Noordin Mohd Top, another Malaysian, were apparently hiding out in a house in Bandung as recently as Monday or Tuesday according to the police, but when officers raided the house on Wednesday night, they had already fled.
Tohir and Ismail were arrested on Wednesday morning in a Cirebon hotel, West Java, with five explosive devices, possibly blasting caps, in their luggage.
"From their confessions, the police learned that Azahari has made plans for another bomb attack, but Azahari and Noordin managed to escape when we tried to arrest them in the Bandung area," Da'i said.
Meanwhile in Bandung, police found four homemade bombs at the room rented by Azahari and Noordin. The high-explosive bombs were later detonated at a nearby field.
Da'i warned the public of possible bombings as the two fugitives were carrying assembled bombs with them and ready to attack.
Azahari, Noordin and Ismail are among the most wanted terror suspects in Southeast Asia. They are all suspected members of the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist network and allegedly played major roles in last year's Bali bombing, which claimed more than 200 lives, and the Marriott bombing, which killed 12 people and injured 147 others.
The police distributed fresh pictures of the two men as they believed the fugitives were still holed up somewhere in West Java.
In Cirebon, the police also disposed of the five blasting caps, which were packed in small tubes, an eye glass holder and a cigarette pack. The two suspects had them hidden in their waist packs.
Bomb squad officers said that the bombs were made with a high degree of expertise and were ready to be detonated at any time.
In the Marriott bombing Ismail, 28, apparently helped Azahari to assemble the Marriott bombs.
Ismail was also wanted by police detectives as he had purchased the blue metallic Kijang minivan along with Arief, another suspect who is still at large.
The van was then used to carry more than 150 kilograms of explosives and 20 liters of fuel to create a fireball effect in the bombing.
Tohir has been accused of being the field commander in the bombing, along with Asmar Latin Sani who detonated the car bomb and died in the incident. The two came from the same village in Malalo, Agam, West Sumatra.
West Java Police Chief Insp. Gen. Dadang Garnida said that aside from Azahari and Noordin, the police are also on the look out for two more suspects related to the bombing who were believed to be in the province.
Coinciding with the arrest of the two suspects, the British Embassy here issued a new travel advisory emphasizing that Westerners were "facing general threats" across the country.
The embassy also said that there are indications of more terrorist attacks in Indonesia, targeting Westerners, and people should avoid non-essential travel to the country.