Police question wife of Noordin, declare new bombing suspect

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Police investigators have questioned a woman claiming to be the wife of Noordin Moh. Top, one of two Malaysian fugitives believed to have masterminded a series of bomb attacks across the country.

"We have questioned a woman claiming to be Noordin's wife and asked when they were last together, I don't remember her initials, but they got married here," National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Friday.

No information was given as to when Noordin and the woman were married, whether the two have children or where the woman lives.

Da'i said police let the woman return to her parents after the questioning. He declined to reveal when the questioning took place.

Police have been searching for Noordin since the Aug. 5, 2003 bomb attack at the JW Marriot Hotel in South Jakarta, in which at least 12 lives were claimed.

British-trained bomb maker Azahari is also on the police's most-wanted list for his role in attacks blamed on regional terror network Jamaah Islamiyah (JI).

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has suffered sporadic bomb attacks since 1999, including the Oct. 12, 2002 Bali bombings, in which at least 202 people were killed.

A bomb exploded outside the Australian Embassy in South Jakarta on Sept. 9, killing at least ten people and injuring some 200 others.

Meanwhile, police have named another suspect in the embassy bombing, bringing the number to five.

According to National Police chief of detectives Suyitno Landung, the new suspect, identified as IR, was arrested in West Java last week.

"His initials are IR. He has a relationship with another suspect named R, who is still at large," Suyitno said.

The police said IR was asked by an alleged suicide bomber identified as G alias IG alias HG to deliver two letters -- one to his wife and one to his parents in Rengasdengklok, West Java.

"Those were farewell letters, written in Sundanese and Bahasa Indonesia respectively," said Suyitno.

According to him, G alias IC alias HG apologized to his family in the letters, but said he would die a martyr.

Police are still conducting DNA tests on body parts found at the bomb site, to match them against blood samples taken from the family members of G, IB, J and H in West and East Java.

"We also found out that there are some more people from West Java -- with the initials IZ, IG and IP -- who were willing to be suicide bombers. We are still tracking them down," said Suyitno.

Police had earlier named four people suspected of involvement in the embassy bombing -- AAH and three others, identified as UB, IS alias AF and DN.

AAH allegedly transported explosives used in the embassy bombing from a house in Cengkareng, West Jakarta to two houses in West Java, while the three others are believed to have harbored Azahari. The three were detained before the bomb exploded on Sept. 8.

"On the afternoon of Sept. 22 we found five body pieces (in the vicinity of the Australian Embassy) which we assume are parts of a human head -- or heads -- because there was hair on them," said Suyitno.

Police are still trying to locate the place where the bomb was assembled and the place where the perpetrators prepared themselves to carry out the attack.

"We are concentrating on West Java, Banten and Greater Jakarta," said Suyitno.