Police announce breakthrough in Bali probe
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Denpasar
Police investigating the Bali bombing have made a significant breakthrough with the identification of a suspect, believed to be a bomb expert, who is has fled his home and is evading police.
Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar told the House of Representatives' Commission I on foreign and security affairs on Thursday, that information provided by the public after the sketches of three men were released on Wednesday had led to the identification of the chubby East Javanese man wearing a pale green shirt.
Da'i said the man, after confirmation from various sources, was a bomb expert.
"When we traced him to his house soon after we got the information, he had run away. We vow to hunt him down," he told the legislators.
Earlier Thursday, Da'i said that in addition to the three men, investigators had identified another man who was believed to have driven the vehicle containing the bomb to the Sari Club.
"We have identified that person ... The person is somewhere in the country," Da'i said.
He also said police believed the suspects were only field operators, not the brains behind the attacks that killed more than 190 people, mostly foreigners, and injured more than 300 others.
"They use TNT, RDX, HDX and ammonium nitrate. Some of the materials like RDX is not available here. It should have been smuggled in by the perpetrators," Da'i said.
RDX is a component used in making C4 plastic explosive, which is produced in the U.S. and difficult to find in Indonesia.
Because of this, some quarters in the country have accused the U.S. of being behind the bombing, but U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Ralph L. Boyce has said the reports are inaccurate and unhelpful.
Others, including Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil, have linked the Bali bombing to Jamaah Islamiyah and the al-Qaeda terrorist network.
Australian Security and Intelligence Organization (ASIO) director Dennis Richardson on Thursday also blamed al-Qaeda.
Police have not yet linked the bombing to any group.
A nation-wide hunt was launched Thursday for the three possible suspects and police have sent the sketches to Interpol.
Police joint inquiry team spokesman Brig. Gen. Edward Aritonang said police across the country had set up special teams to hunt down the suspects within their respective jurisdictions.
Furthermore, the joint inquiry team had also established a team of seasoned detectives tasked solely with tracking down and apprehending the suspects. This core team, whose numbers are not known, would work in unison with the teams from the regions.
Aritonang said that after publication of the three sketches, police had received numerous tips and information from the public.
"We appreciate all the information provided by the public, and we are scrutinizing that information," he said.
He also denied reports that police had arrested a man identified as Rozali in West Nusa Tenggara. "We have not made any arrest yet."