'The bomb weighed over 10 kg'

'The bomb weighed over 10 kg'

Damar Harsanto and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

Entering the sixth day of the investigation into the JW Marriott
bombing, police estimated that the bomb contained between 10
kilograms and 20 kilograms of explosives.

"At least 10 kilograms of explosives would be needed for a
device to cause such devastation," said a police detective close
to the investigation.

The explosion, which claimed 11 lives and injured 148 others,
produced a two-meter wide crater that penetrating through 32-
centimeter thick concrete into the basement.

Another police detective close to the investigation gave a
different estimate, however, saying that around 20 kilograms of
explosives would be needed to cause such devastation.

Police found traces of the high explosives HMX, TNT and RDX,
and low explosive powder at the blast site.

They said that the bomber had also placed four jerrycans
containing gasoline around the bomb, which created a fireball
effect after detonation. The fireballs instantly killed six of
the victims.

As of Sunday morning, six officers from the National Police
Central Forensics Laboratory and five officers from the
Australian Federal Police were still busy searching the blast
site for evidence and clues.

By applying special chemicals to items around the blast scene
and then a special paper similar to Litmus paper, investigators
are able to identify the presence or otherwise of explosives'
residues.

"From the colors, we can identify traces of RDX, HMX, TNT, or
the explosive powder used in the bomb. Then we can accurately
estimate the quantity of explosives used in the bomb from where
the traces were found," said a police detective at the scene.

Besides Australia, the United States has also offered
assistance with the investigation.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda told The Jakarta
Post that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell phoned him on
Saturday to offer help.

Powell also conveyed his sympathy to the Marriott bombing
victims.

Hassan said that he had informed his U.S. counterpart on the
latest developments in the investigation, saying that the bombing
was related to the recent arrests of alleged Jamaah Islamiyah
(JI) members in Semarang, Central Java.

Meanwhile at the bomb scene, the police had still not allowed
the debris left by the bombing, including the wrecked Toyota
Kijang van that contained the bomb, the shards of glass from
blown-out windows, and bent and twisted metal window frames.

The two-meter-in-diameter crater have been covered with a
large sheet of plywood.

Police have been linking the Marriott bombing to JI, saying
that there were similarities in terms of the explosives used, the
use of a mobile phone to trigger the bomb, and the removal of the
engine and chassis identification numbers from the van containing
the bomb.

Denpasar District Court has just handed down the death
sentence to Amrozi for his involvement in last year's Bali
bombings, which killed 202 people and wounded 300 others.

Police have announced that the suspected suicide bomber was
Asmar Latin Sani, 28. It is he whom it is believed drove the van
that exploded in the hotel's entrance driveway.

Two arrested JI members, Sardono Siliwangi and Muhammad Rais,
told police that they had recruited Asmar as a JI member. Rais
reportedly transported 50 kilograms of explosives from Palembang
to Bengkulu in February this year. The explosives were kept at
Asmar's house until 2003.

Separately, Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said on Sunday that his
administration would cooperate with the Jakarta Police to ensure
better security in public places, including malls, hotels and
entertainment centers.

"We'll check them at random in a month. If we find any of them
failing to meet the security standards, we'll announce it openly
to the public," he said.

Sutiyoso also said that his administration had officially
requested the Jakarta Military Command to help ensure security in
public places given staffing shortages in the police.

"The ratio of Jakarta Police officers to the city's population
is about 1:925, much less than an ideal ratio set by the United
Nations of 1:300. We need to narrow this wide gap by recruiting
more personnel," he said, adding that members of the public
should keep an eye on rented houses and low-cost hotels, which in
most cases been used by the terrorists to plan and prepare their
attacks.