TNT finding linked to Sept. 9 bombing

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Police said on Sunday they were hunting down four men for illegal possession of explosives found in a West Java village recently and for their alleged role in last month's bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung Sudjono said the four were part of the group responsible for the Sept. 9 attack.

Suyitno said residents living near a house thought to have been rented by the four in Cicurug village, Cianjur regency, had identified one of the quartet as Hassan, a suspect in the Kuningan case who police had declared a fugitive.

The village is about 80 kilometers south of the capital.

"We are still tracking down the four people, who we believe were part of the Kuningan bombing," Suyitno told The Jakarta Post.

At least 10 suspects are wanted by police in connection with the Kuningan bombing, including Jibril, Rois, and Igun. They are believed to work for Malaysian fugitives Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Moh. Top, who head the wanted list for their role in the 2002 Bali blast and last year's JW Marriott bombing in Jakarta.

The search is being focused on West Java, police said.

Suyitno said most of the materials found in two backpacks in the house in Cicurug village was trinitrotoluene (TNT), a toxic chemical compound used in high explosives, such as that used in last month's bombing.

"We haven't weighed the explosives yet, as we are still examining them," he said.

A small explosion went off at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday at the house. On Friday, police said they found two backpacks containing live bombs that had not exploded.

Apart from injuring one of the four men, the explosion also damaged the house's walls and furniture, the police added.

"They were apparently assembling a bomb when the primer, not the bomb itself, went off accidentally. That's why the explosion was small," said Suyitno.

He said one of the men, identified as Abdullah, 18, had injured his hand and the rest of the group had taken him to a nearby clinic.

By the time the investigators arrived at the clinic, the four had already fled, Suyitno added.

Police have arrested eight suspects in connection with the Kuningan blast, the latest attack blamed on regional terror network Jamaah Islamiyah -- which is known to have links to Al -- and identified Heri Golun as the solo suicide bomber.

Police concluded earlier that the bomb used in the embassy attack was made of from a mixture of potassium chlorate, low- explosive compounds and a small part of TNT.

Suyitno warned that the latest discovery meant the bombers still had the capability to launch bomb attacks anywhere at any time, as potassium chlorate was found easily n the market and most of the bomber suspects were capable of assembling it into a low-explosive bomb.