Police name suspects in Marriott bombing

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.