Police release photos of bombing suspects
Abdul Khalik and I.D. Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Surabaya
Police released on Wednesday 10 pictures of terrorist suspects allegedly involved in the Bali, Marriott and Australian Embassy bombings, including two updated sketches of fugitive terror masterminds Dr. Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Moh. Top.
Along with the embassy blast in which at least 10 people died, Malaysians Azahari and Noordin are believed to have organized the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people and the 2003 Marriott Hotel attack which claimed 12 lives.
Azahari and Noordin each now have a Rp 1 billion price on their heads and police believe the pair have recruited new suicide bombers who are armed with explosives and are planning fresh attacks ahead of the Sept. 20 presidential election.
Four other terror suspects are old players, also suspected of involvement in the Bali bombings and the Marriott Hotel attack. Abu Dujana, Umar alias Fatek, Zuhroni alias Oni, and Dulmatin have been on police wanted lists for almost two years.
The others Hasan, Ibrahim Nurdin, Rois, and Zulkarnaen are new recruits. The police are offering Rp 500 million for information leading to the capture of each of the eight.
Police had said earlier three other suspects, identified as Akbar, Kobra and Sudadi, were the likely perpetrators of the Sept. 9 blast. But sketches of these men were not released.
The police said they came up with these three names because they found that all of them had written letters to their families stating that they were ready to conduct a suicide bombing across the country.
National Police Chief of Detectives Com. Gen. Suyitno Landung Sudjono said police were still DNA testing body fragments found at the blast site with DNA from suspects' family members in several areas in Central and East Java.
"We will announce which of the suspects were involved in the Kuningan bombing after we complete the DNA tests on the 117 body fragments. They could come from one, two, or three persons," Suyitno said. It would take a week to complete the test, he said.
Earlier, National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said police had taken five blood samples from family members of Hasan and Jabir alias Nanang.
He also said police had made "several arrests" in Central and East Java in relation to the case but declined to release any names.
Meanwhile, Mutmainah, the mother of new recruit Hasan, who lived in a neighborhood in Surabaya, East Java, confirmed her blood had been taken by a police officer to match the DNA in body fragments at the blast site.
"Hasan has not lived in the neighborhood in the last six months," a neighbor of Mutmainah's, Kusjari, said.
In April, the police arrested five people suspected of terror attacks in the Sukoharjo area in Surakarta, Central Java. They were believed to be involved in planning and preparing the Bali bombings and JW Marriott attack. Police said the five were new recruits of al-Qaeda-linked terror group Jamaah Islamiyah.
After the latest bombing a high ranking police officer, however, told The Jakarta Post that at least 10 new suicide bombers, recruited by the two Malaysian fugitives remained at large.
Police announced they had tracked down the owner of the van who may have sold it to the bombers.
"We now know the fourth buyer of the van. The person said that three men bought the vehicle. It is possible that they are the perpetrators of the blast," Suyitno said.