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| Southeast Asia |
| Indonesian Police Link Hambali to Hotel Blast |
| 2003-08-14 |
| Indonesian police on Thursday linked suspected Jemaah Islamiah mastermind Hambali to the bombing of a U.S.-run luxury hotel in Jakarta last week along with other key fugitives wanted over the deadly 2002 Bali blasts. It’s got his fingerprints all over it. The comments by Erwin Mappaseng, the senior police officer overseeing the JW Marriott Hotel bombing investigation, were the clearest link yet made between the shadowy Southeast Asian militant network and the August 5 hotel blast that killed 12 people and wounded 150. Asked by reporters if six possible suspects over the attack were being sought, Mappaseng said: "Yes, including Hambali, Dulmatin, the same old people." In this case, "the usual suspects" phrase is correct. Reporters were referring to a photo chart displayed by police that showed six key figures on the run following various acts of violence in Indonesia. Hambali and Dulmatin -- both Indonesians -- are wanted over last year’s Bali bomb attacks, which killed 202 people. Mappaseng also named Azahari, a Malaysian electronics expert accused of designing and supervising the making of the Bali car bomb that caused the most damage. Hambali, a preacher also known as Riduan Isamuddin, is the most wanted man in Southeast Asia. He is seen as the bridge between Jemaah Islamiah and Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda. He’s a really big fish. Dulmatin is an electronics expert who police say helped build the Bali bombs and detonated them using a cellular phone. The Bali and Marriot bombs were almost identical, this has his fingerprints as well. A leading Indonesian newspaper said on Thursday that police had arrested nine people suspected of being involved in or having knowledge of the hotel car bomb, also detonated by mobile phone. Several senior police officials have denied the report. "The report is not true. I don’t know where they got the information," said Basyir Barmawi, national police spokesman. A senior police source told Reuters that officers had detained several people in recent days in Bengkulu province on Sumatra island as part of the investigation, but that they had yet to link them to the latest terror attack. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #2 Guess we'll have to ask him... Heh heh heh! |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-8-14 4:17:16 PM |
| #1 so does this mean hambali is in Indon, or did he do it remote? |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-8-14 12:22:29 PM |