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| Southeast Asia |
| Bali Bomb Possibly Linked to Pekanbaruâs Blast |
| 2004-05-06 |
| Police have collected traces of the same high explosive used in the 2002 Bali bombing in debris at the site of Pekanbaruâs fresh blast that killed two people. A bomb rocked a grocery house-store in the capital province of oil-rich Riau Tuesday afternoon, May 4, in the Delima sub district in front of the Tampan market, about one kilometer south of downtown Pekanbaru. The explosion took the lives of Dewi Sriyati (20) and Sipon (18)âa housemaid and a shop assistant. The shopâs owner Along, a Chinese descendant, his wife Yuliana, and their son Stephen were also injured. A badly burned unknown victim was also found after the explosion, some 30 meters from the spot. According to Riau police spokesman Pandiangan, the mysterious victim cannot be identified since he is still in a critical condition, though it is not likely that he is linked with the bombing. Tuesdayâs blast in Riau also another injured four people. The serial bombings in Riau have killed in total five people and injured 21 others. Police refused to determine immediately if there is a connection between Baliâs bombing 2 years ago, and the latest one in Riau. âWe found residue of a high explosive RDX nitrate at the site. The blast was the biggest to hit the city,â said Riau chief detective Syarizal Ahiyar today. According to police, it is too early to connect this most recent violence to the al Qaeda-linked militants blamed for the previous bombings in Bali and Jakartaâs Marriott. Ahiyar said his team questioned 11 witnesses, and is investigating whether the Riau blast is linked to the trial of Zulfius bin Yunus, a suspect charged with the bombing of a church on Christmas Eve in 2000. |
| Posted by:Fred |