Pictures released of suspected bombers' accomplices
Pictures released of suspected bombers' accomplices
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The police released on Saturday a photograph and a sketch of
two men who allegedly helped Malaysian bomb makers Azahari bin
Husin and Noordin Moh. Top perpetrate the blast outside the
Australian Embassy here earlier this month.
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said one of the men,
identified as Heri, was the last owner of the white Daihatsu
Zebra van carrying registration number B 9065 NH. He remains at
large.
"Heri bought the car along with Mr. X and Mr. Y, both of whom
we are still looking for," Da'i told a press briefing at the
Media Center at the Sari Pan Pacific hotel in Central Jakarta.
He said the police finished the sketch of Heri's face based on
witnesses' accounts.
The police, Da'i added, are still collecting information and
working on the sketches of Mr. X and Mr. Y. "It is a bit slow as
this man (Heri) did most of the communicating, while the other
two were quiet," said Da'i.
The van was bought from a showroom in Pondok Gede, Bekasi, on
Aug. 6, about a month before the bombing that left at least 10
people dead, including one of the perpetrators.
The van was later used by another man, identified by his
initials, AAH, to transport the explosives to three different
houses in West Java and Banten. AAH is now in police custody and
has been named a suspect.
"We have located the houses in West Java and Banten but we are
still searching for the house in Jakarta," Da'i said.
AAH, whose photograph was released on Saturday, has confessed
to transporting four boxes and six bags of bomb materials from a
house in Menceng, Cengkareng, West Jakarta, to West Java upon the
order of a man named Rois. The latter has been on the police's
most-wanted list for the last two years for his role in the Bali
bombings in 2002, in which 202 people were killed, mostly
Australians.
In the rented house in Menceng, police found trinitrotoluene
and sulfur, which were also found at the site of last week's
bombing.
Da'i said AAH had admitted that Azahari once stayed at his
house in West Java for two nights.
Police have also named three men known by their initials UB,
IS and TN as suspects on the charges of harboring Azahari and
involvement in plotting the bombing. The police caught the three
prior to the Australian Embassy blast.
Police believe that Azahari and Noordin masterminded the Bali
blasts and the attack on the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta last
year.
Da'i said the police suspect the perpetrators of last week's
blast procured the explosives from smugglers.
The police have so far questioned 79 people and detained 10
others in connection with the case. They released on Friday
Rahmatullah and his wife, who were arrested in Sidoarjo, East
Java on Wednesday, due to insufficient evidence.
Da'i said the police were still waiting for the results of DNA
tests on three blood samples in order to identify body parts
found at the blast site.
They are also examining fragments of cars and other objects
found at the scene.
The police have concluded that the attack was committed by a
suicide bomber, but are yet to find the detonator of the bomb.