Three more bombs found in Azahari's rooms

Three more bombs found in Azahari's rooms

Yuli Tri Suwarni and ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Bandung/Surabaya

Police intensified their search for Malaysian terror suspects
Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohammed Top after finding three
more homemade bombs in their rented rooms on Jl. Kebon Kembang in
Bandung, West Java.

Police sources said that since Thursday, police had focused
their search for Azahari and Noordin in hotels and small inns in
the areas of North Bandung and Lembang.

They also are hunting the fugitives in the areas of South
Bandung, Ciwidey and Pengalengan.

Bandung Police detectives chief Masguntur Laupe said police
were continuing the search for Azahari and Noordin, who were
allegedly involved in the JW Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta on
Aug. 5 that left 12 people dead.

"They are probably still in the Bandung area," Masguntur said.

He doubted the fugitives would be able to get out of town
because they did not have money and were unable to communicate
fluently in Bahasa Indonesia.

Central Bandung Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Irwanto said on
Friday that officers had found three low explosive bombs in rooms
rented by Azahari and Noordin. On Thursday, police discovered
three high explosive bombs in the rooms.

"Although the bombs are low explosives, they were already
equipped with detonators and ready to be exploded," Irwanto said.

A bomb squad officer said the bombs, weighing one kilogram
each, consisted of a mixture of sulfur, TNT and metal pellets.

After a thorough search of the rented rooms on Friday, police
declared them free from any more explosives.

"We have combed the rooms and even opened their ceilings. We
have declared the house free from bombs, but we will continue
checking the house until Saturday," Irwanto said.

Meanwhile, the East Java Police are on alert to prevent
Azahari and Noordin from entering the province.

East Java Police chief Heru Susanto said on Friday the police
had increased security in towns along the border with West Java.

"We don't want any bombings in the province," he said.

Azahari, a former professor of statistics at the Malaysian
Institute of Technology, is believed to have masterminded the
bombing at the Marriott Hotel in South Jakarta which killed 12
people -- including bomber Asmar Latin Sani -- and injured 147
others.

Azahari and Noordin are among the most wanted suspected
members of regional terrorist network Jamaah Islamiah (JI), which
had been listed by the United Nations as a terrorist group.

JI, which is believed to have links with al-Qaeda, has been
blamed for the deadly Bali bombings on Oct. 12, 2002, that killed
202 people and injured over 300 others, mostly foreigners.

Over 30 people have been arrested and prosecuted at the
Denpasar District Court for the bombings, with three principal
suspects being sentenced to death.

Police arrested two suspected accomplices of Azahari and
Noordin in Cirebon, West Java, on Wednesday. The two were
identified as Tohir and Ismail. Police said they allowed Azahari
and Noordin to escape because they were wearing explosives, which
authorities feared could detonate in the residential
neighborhood.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Friday the arrests of Tohir and
Ismail did not mean the terrorist network had been destroyed.

"We need to continuously break up terrorist cells and arrest
figures," Susilo said after briefing military officers at the
Indonesian Military Special Command School in Bandung.

Susilo also called on residents to be alert for bomb threats,
especially during the holy month of Ramadhan and the approaching
Idul Fitri and Christmas celebrations.