Police name suspects in Marriott bombing

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Moments after Asia's most wanted man, alleged terror ringleader Hambali, was captured in Thailand on Friday, local police confirmed that they had named several suspects who were possibly involved in the Aug. 5 Marriott bombing that claimed 12 lives and injured 147 others.

National Police Detective chief Comr. Gen. Erwin Mappaseng told the press at the National Police Headquarters that the suspects had been arrested earlier based on evidence and further questioning which pointed to their involvement in the bombing.

After intensive interrogation on Thursday, police concluded that they had sufficient evidence to declare them suspects in the case.

However, Erwin declined to mention all of the suspects' full names as the National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar himself is scheduled to officially announce their names within the next two days.

Two suspects were being tailed by police for several days in Serpong, Tangerang, and were captured later in Ciputat, Tangerang, said a police source close to the investigation.

The 11 suspects include Samsul Bachri, Idrus, Ilham, Ridwan, Arsyad and a Malaysian named Muklis in addition to two others only mentioned by their initials, Dlm and Zul. Most were under surveillance earlier due to their alleged links to the Bali bombings on Oct. 12, 2002.

However, Erwin said that Samsul Bachri -- who reportedly surrendered to police last week after the Marriott bombing at the Pulo Gadung bus terminal in East Jakarta -- was probably not involved in the bombing.

"It's now clear that he was lying at the time of his arrest. He himself told police investigators about the Marriott bombing," Erwin said.

Police sources said Samsul told police that he was a friend of Asmar Latin Sani, the alleged Marriott bomber who was killed at the scene, and it was Samsul him who detonated the bomb.

It was later proven that he had no connection with the bombing whatsoever but he will face legal charges for false statements to police.

Police have yet to absolutely pin the blame on any group responsible for the attack.

However, Asmar's identity was confirmed by other suspects who were arrested earlier, who said he was a member of a terror cell led by Mustofa, a senior Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) leader who allegedly acquired at least one ton of explosives and ammunition, which was seized by police in Semarang in early July.

Hambali, an Indonesian, is suspected of being the overall operations chief of JI.

Police believe that Asmar, whose body was found at the blast site, was the driver of a Toyota Kijang van full of explosives and fuel that exploded at the hotel's driveway.