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.