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| Southeast Asia |
| GAM or Azahari responsible for Medan mall bombs |
| 2004-03-11 |
| Medan Police chief Sr. Comr. Bagus Kurniawan said on Wednesday that the police were focusing their investigations into the discovery of five live bombs in a Medan mall on two distinct groups. The two groups in question were the terrorist group allegedly led by Dr. Azahari and the rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM). "It’s probable that one of these groups is responsible for the bombs," he said. Bombs are regularly discovered in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra. Packs of explosive were found at the Sukaramai market in January. Seven GAM members were arrested and another one was shot dead in connection with the explosives. In January 2000, several homemade bombs were found in three churches in the city. Abu Yasar, an alleged member of the Jamaah Islamiyah terrorist group, is still awaiting trial in the Medan District Court in connection with the planned church bombings. Bagus said that police investigators were now preparing sketches of those whom they believed were connected with the bombs in the Medan mall. "We have questioned 10 witnesses, and are making our sketches based on their descriptions," he said. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |