Police suspect GAM behind Atrium bombing

Police suspect GAM behind Atrium bombing

JAKARTA (JP): Police suspect that the latest bombing at the
Atrium Plaza was connected with GAM (Free Aceh Movement) as the
car in which the bomb was planted belonged to the wife of one of
the Jakarta Stock Exchange bombers, who is alleged to have a
close relationship with the movement.

At a press conference on Monday, police said they were
currently hunting the person who bought the red Ford Laser from
Isnaeni, the wife of Tengku Ismuhadi, who has been sentenced to
20 years in jail for his involvement in the Jakarta Stock
Exchange bombing last year.

"The initial of the person who bought the car is A, alias R.
We're tracking him down," said Jakarta deputy police chief Brig.
Gen. Makbul Padmanegara.

Thus far, the police have questioned 14 people, including
Isnaeni, who said the car no longer belonged to her.

According to her lawyer, Johnson Pandjaitan, Isnaeni sold the
car to Ramli, the owner of a second-hand car showroom in Kebon
Jeruk, West Jakarta, on Sept.14.

"My client is confused by the police allegations. She has just
sold the car," Johnson told The Jakarta Post.

Isnaeni was still being questioned by the police on Monday
although she was not arrested.

With Sunday's bomb, the Atrium Plaza has now been targeted
twice by bombers within the last two months. The first one on
August 1 injured six people.

According to the police investigation, the first bomb was
planted by an organization identifying itself as the Jihad Group.

Two members of the group have been arrested, namely Dani, a
Malaysian national who was one of the bomb victims and was
arrested on the same day as the bombing, and Abas, who was
arrested on Sept. 12 in Tasikmalaya, West Java.

In his testimony, Abas who claimed to have received military
training in Afghanistan in 1987, said the group was also behind
the Christmas bombing on Dec. 25 which killed 19 people.

"We did it as an act of solidarity with our brothers in
Ambon," Abas told reporters.

Following Abas's arrest, the police raided a military-style
training camp in Pandeglang, West Java. Twelve arrests were made
and seven firearms were seized. (06)