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| Southeast Asia |
| Indonesia links 5 to Jakarta blast |
| 2004-09-24 |
| Indonesian police said on Friday they had a fifth person in custody believed to be linked to the bombing of Australia's embassy in Jakarta that killed nine people earlier this month, an officer said on Friday. The five, detained under anti-terror laws, include three arrested before the Sept. 9 blast but believed to have had knowledge of it. Police previously said four people were being held for links to the blast. "The suspects who were detained (after the blast) are AAH and IR," Suyitno Landung, head of the police's criminal investigation department, said using only the suspects' initials. He also mentioned the initials of the three other suspects. "We are now focusing on the place where the explosives were stored before they were transported to Jakarta, and the place where they prepared the suicide bombers in West Java and Banten," Landung told reporters, referring to the two provinces that surround the capital. He said police were also questioning 14 other people over the blast. In a report on Friday, prominent local newspaper Media Indonesia named two men it said were believed to have been suicide bombers in the van that exploded outside the Australian embassy gate. It also quoted a police source who said a suspect identified by the initials AAH had helped unravel the case. Police have said they believe the bombing was the work of Malaysian engineer Azahari Husin and fellow countryman Noordin Top, both fugitives wanted in connection with previous bombings linked to Southeast Asian militant network Jemaah Islamiah. Media Indonesia said the two recruited around 10 Indonesians and used a local Jakarta courier company to support the bombing preparation. Landung confirmed that a courier firm was involved in the operation, but said the police were still collecting evidence to complete dossiers on the suspects. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |