New sketch released

JAKARTA: National Police have released the sketch of the third suspect in the bombing of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport that injured 11 people last month.

Detectives chief Comr. Gen. Erwin Mappaseng said the suspect bought the pipes used for the bombs.

"He bought more than one pipe to make bombs in both the airport and the blast near the U.N. building here," he said.

Erwin said, the man, wearing a red hat and leather jacket, ordered the pipes from a pipe maker in North Jakarta on April 4, and took the order three days later.

He said the man was in his 30s, was 160-centimeters tall, skinny, had an oval-shaped face, shoulder-length hair, thin eyebrows, a thin mustache, common-shaped lips and nose, and tanned skin.

On Tuesday, police released the composite sketches of two suspects in the airport bombing, and a suspect in the bombing near the UN building.

Police believe they are members of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), but GAM has denied this.

Police have linked the recent bombings to the attack on the Jakarta Stock Exchange building in September 2000.

In another development, police claimed to have arrested two people, identified as Syamsuddin and Lulu, for allegedly planting bombs near the Exotica Discotheque, in front of the Jayakarta Hotel, and at the parking lot of the Sarinah Department Store, both in Jakarta in June last year.

"The two were caught three days ago in Cibinong, Bogor," Jakarta Police spokesman Snr. Com. Prasetyo said Thursday.

He said the police was still investigating the possible involvement of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in the attacks.--JP