Police kill bomb suspect, nab two more

Police kill bomb suspect, nab two more

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

North Sumatra Police said on Wednesday they had shot dead an Aceh
separatist and captured two others, including the ringleader of
the group alleged to have planted two bombs in the provincial
capital.

Police also revealed they were searching for a third bomb made
by the group, which was still hidden somewhere in the city.

The two suspects arrested on Tuesday night included Marzuki,
the alleged mastermind of the attacks and a long-time fugitive
wanted for a spate of incidents in the province.

The other suspect was identified as Usman, while his
accomplice, M. Nur, was shot dead by the police as he tried to
escape during a raid in Belawan district, near Medan.

Medan Police chief of detectives Adj. Comr. Maruli Siahaan
said Nur had been arrested in Belawan but tried to flee when
police officers were transporting him in a car.

"The police were then forced to shoot the suspect to weaken
him and slow his escape. He died from serious bleeding while
being brought to Pirngadi Hospital."

Nur's body was being kept at the hospital, Maruli said.

The three suspects were rounded up at their rented house on
Jl. Yacub, Medan.

They were charged with a bombing near the Amplas junction on
Jan. 5 on Jl. Sisingamangaraja, he said. No one was injured in
the blast, which took place in an empty house.

They were also believed to be responsible for another
unexploded bomb, which was found hours later at the nearby
Sukaramai market, Maruli said.

Police said the two pipe bombs were identical in their
manufacture.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Mardi Rukmianto, who heads the antiterror team
with the North Sumatra Police office, said the three suspects
were captured following the earlier arrests of their six
accomplices -- Abdul Samat, 24, Syaifuddin, 31, Syaifullah, 30,
Anwar, 20, Idris Roni alias Pek Ri, 58, and Tengku Usman, 28.

Two of the six suspects had confessed to detonating the
homemade bomb at the Amplas junction and planting another bomb at
the Sukaramai market, Mardi said.

They told police of the existence of a third bomb in Medan
before they were arrested.

"We are trying to find where the third bomb is being kept. The
police believe that it is being stored by Marzuki," he said.

On Tuesday, Medan Police chief Sr. Comr. Bagus Kurniawan said
the six suspects confessed to planning the attack on the orders
of Marzuki, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leader for North Aceh.

Marzuki was also allegedly involved in the 2003 blast at the
Medan mayor's office.

That blast was believed to be masterminded by Medan Deli's
GAM leader Abdul Wahal, Bagus said.

He said police believed Abdul Samat and Syaifuddin were also
involved in many other bombings in East Aceh.

Police had sufficient evidence to prove all six suspects were
GAM members, he said.

Syaifuddin, interviewed by The Jakarta Post on Tuesday,
admitted to have been involved in the blasts in East Aceh and
Amplas but denied he was a GAM member. He said he took part in
the bombings for money.

Another suspect, Anwar, told a similar story, saying he was
given Rp 100,000 by Marzuki after planting the bomb at the
Sukaramai market.