Police suspect suicide bombers behind blast

The Jakarta Post Jakarta/Bandung/Cirebon/Denpasar

Police are trying to verify their suspicions that two suicide bombers were behind Thursday's attack outside the Australian Embassy that left nine people dead and over 180 injured.

National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung Sudjono said the police were still examining body parts that had been sent to the Police Hospital in East Jakarta, which he believed belonged to the perpetrators of the bombing.

"We suspect they are not victims ... because we believe they were inside a truck they were using to carry out the attack when the bomb exploded," Suyitno said.

He said the police had earlier believed the body parts belonged to three people suspected of conducting the attack. But after examining the body parts in the hospital, the police identified another victim of the blast as Suryatno. His family has claimed the body parts for burial, Suyitno said without elaborating.

He added that his officers were now matching the DNA of the two bodies, with members of their families, who reside in an undisclosed town in East Java.

Journalists were a photograph taken from a video tape made by a camera placed outside the embassy in which a silver box van is traveling along Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said toward Menteng. Suyitno said the camera also showed the truck make a U-turn in front of the Kuningan Plaza office building. It stopped in front of the embassy, where a police truck was parked. However, this picture was not shown to the press.

"Within seconds, the van blew up," Suyitno said.

The camera recoded the van stopping at 10:34 a.m., according to Suyitno.

Suyitno said he suspected the perpetrators of the bombing were linked to fugitive Malaysian bomb makers Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Moh. Top, who are believed to have also masterminded the Bali bombings in 2002 and the attack on JW Marriot Hotel in Jakarta in 2003.

"The terror suspects we have detained have told us there were three new recruits of Jamaah Islamiyah who were ready to conduct suicide bombings against particular targets. We suspect that some of the body parts we found at the scene belong to them," Suyitno added.

The police arrested five suspects in Sukaharjo, Surakarta, and Central Jakarta in April who were allegedly involved in planning and preparing the Bali and the Marriott bombings.

The police said one of the five people who was identified only by his initials, US, was a citizen of a neighboring country. The remaining suspects were identified as AD, BA, UM and FH. All of them, together with Saiffudin alias Abu Fida, and three other suspects who were arrested recently, would be of assistance in helping the police capture Azahari and Noordin.

"When we tried to catch them, three of the suspects managed to escape. The three are all the suicide bombers recruited by Azahari and Noordin, and they have been in frequent contact with one another," said Suyitno.

The police have also concluded that the bomb was made of TNT and sulfur.

Australian forensic experts said the car bomb consisted of about 200 kilograms of potassium chloride.

On Friday, people continued to expressed condolences to the victims and condemn the terror attack on television and radio.

Exhortations to fight against terrorism were also voiced in sermons at mosques during Friday prayers.

"We deplore anyone who commits such inhuman acts. We hope there will be no more tragedies like this, and that those who perpetrated it realize they have betrayed the teachings of their religion," said the iman at the Dharmala Building on Jl. Sudirman.

In Denpasar, dozens of people gathered to denounce the attack.

They assembled in front of the memorial to the 202 people who perished in the Oct. 12, 2002, bombings.

"The National Police chief must resign," one protester shouted.

In Bandung, representatives of student, farmers, and street singers' organizations demonstrated in front of the legislative building to condemn the bombing. A similar rally was also held by religious leaders, politicians and journalists in Cirebon.

"No religion can justify bombings. So, I call on the nation to unite to face the threat," said Muslim cleric Adib Rofi'uddin.