Police release pictures of Cicurug bomb makers
Police release pictures of Cicurug bomb makers
Abdul Khalik and Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Bandung
Police released on Tuesday pictures of Abdullah, Jabir and Afuy,
three of four owners of high explosive found in Cicurug village,
Sukabumi, West Java, after naming them suspects in the Sept. 9
bombing outside the Australian Embassy in South Jakarta.
National Police detectives chief Com. Gen. Suyitno Landung
Sudjono said the police were now matching the dry blood found in
a rented house in Cicurug with blood samples of family members of
other suspects in the embassy attack.
"Some neighbors identified Jabir and Afuy as two of the four
men who rented the house," said Suyitno.
A small explosion went off at around 8:30 p.m. on Thursday at
a rented house in the village, about 80 kilometers southwest of
Jakarta. The hand of one of the men, later identified as
Abdullah, 18, was wounded, and he was admitted to a nearby
clinic.
Police suspect the other tenant was Hassan, who is wanted for
his role in last month's blast.
The four never returned to the rented house, where police
later found two backpacks of TNT, an explosive material that was
used in the Sept. 9 bomb attack.
"The brown residue we found at the house is TNT. We are still
examining our findings," he said.
Suyitno confirmed that the four men were new recruits of
Malaysian fugitives Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Moh Top, who
have been wanted for their key role in the 2002 Bali bombings --
in which 202 people were killed -- the 2003 JW Marriott Hotel
attack that claimed 12 lives and last month's suicide bombing
that left 10 people dead.
Separately, Siliwangi Military Commander overseeing West Java
Maj. Gen. Iwan Ridwan Sulandjana said he believed that Azahari
and Noordin were still hiding in southern Cianjur or southern
Sukabumi.
"We suspect that areas in West Java, such as Cianjur,
Sukabumi, Tasikmalaya and Ciamis are their hiding places. It is
hard for us, and the police, to trace them as the areas are
isolated. However, we have asked regents there to stay alert,"
said Iwan.
He added his officers were verifying reports of a US$1 million
bank transfer from the United States to finance the construction
of a big mosque in a remote village in southern Cianjur.
"We know that it is an area that supplies migrant workers
bound to Saudi Arabia. But the sender came from the U.S., and it
is hard to believe that such a huge amount should be given to a
mosque in a remote area," said Iwan.
He would not say whether the money had been linked to a
certain organization or individual who assists terror activities
in the country.