Two bomb-laden backpacks seized
Two bomb-laden backpacks seized
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The National Police said on Friday they were tracking down four
men who fled their home, including one who was wounded, after a
small blast at a rented house in Cianjur regency, West Java.
The men were also believed to be the owners of two backpacks
of explosive devices found by the police at the house in Cicurug
village, about 80 kilometers southwest of Jakarta, after the
explosion at around 8:30 p.m. on Thursday.
"There was an explosion in a rented house in Cianjur. Four
people who rented the house ran away after they told local
residents that the blast came from a gas stove. But after we
checked we found that it came a small bomb. We later found two
backpacks of active explosive devices there," said National
Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said.
He could not confirm whether the four people in question were
fugitive terror suspects Dr. Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohd.
Top and their followers.
Azahari and Noordin are believed by police to be the
masterminds of the 2002 Bali bombings, the 2003 JW Marriott Hotel
attack and last month's deadly suicide-bombing at the Australian
Embassy.
The two have reportedly recruited several new suicide bombers,
including those who carried out the blast outside the Embassy in
Jakarta on Sept. 9, which killed 10 people, police say.
Da'i said that one of the four men fled from a nearby clinic
after being treated there for injuries in the explosion at the
rented house.
The police chief did not rule out the possibility that the
group was linked to Azahari and Noordin, and that the suspects
were still somewhere near Cianjur.
Separately, National Police chief of detectives Suyitno
Landung Sudjono said that apart from injuring one of the four
men, the explosion also damaged a wall and some furniture.
The police officers were now hunting for the four suspects to
find out what they really intended to do with the explosives, he
added.
"We are also examining whether the explosives are similar with
those used for the bombing at the Australian Embassy," Suyitno
said.
Police had earlier warned the public that Azahari and Noordin
and their group, remained dangerous because they were thought to
have at least 200 kilograms of explosives in their possession.
Suyitno, however, could not confirm the weight of the
explosives found at the rented house or whether they were of the
same chemical base as that which Azahari and Noordin supposedly
possess.
Besides Azahari and Noordin, the police are still hunting down
at least 10 other suspects in the Sept. 9 attack, including
Hasan, Jibril, Rois and Igun.
The hunt is being focused on West Java, the police added.
They have already nabbed eight suspects in the latest terror
attack blamed on al-Qaeda-linked terror network Jamaah Islamiyah,
and identified Heri Golun as the sole suicide bomber.