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The Australian


The Australian, October 03, 2005

All the hallmarks of a JI strike

Sian Powell and John Kerin

POLICE in Australia and Indonesia will focus their investigation into Saturday's Bali bombings on Jemaah Islamiah amid evidence the attacks bore similarities to the feared terrorist group's assault on the Australian embassy last year.

Police confirmed the Bali attacks were the work of three suicide bombers wearing vests filled with explosives and ball-bearings to cause maximum damage, similar to shrapnel-filled bomb vests worn by four embassy bombers who were arrested in Java last year.

The similarity firmed suspicions that the new Bali attacks were the work of Asia's most-wanted extremists, Azahari Husin and Noordin Top of Jemaah Islamiah.

Indonesian senior anti-terrorism official General Ansyaad Mbai said yesterday the bombings were suicide attacks.

"In each of three places a head and a set of legs was found, without a body," he said, adding the nature of the remains suggested explosives vests. "We are still waiting for the results of the investigation into the explosives."

General Mbai said it was likely two of the suicide bombers were walking on Jimbaran beach, alongside open-air seafood restaurants, when they detonated their explosives vests.

The third bomber took a different route. "In Kuta it's thought that he went into the restaurant," General Mbai said.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said the bombings had not been linked to JI but they had all of the group's hallmarks. He said the AFP had sent a 28-strong team to Jakarta to assist with the investigation. It would be helping identify the types of explosives and with victim identification.

"(Our role will be) to identify the type of explosive that's been used and ... whether they're suicide vests, the origin of those vests, the type of material that's been used in the bomb to try and determine the origins of that and how widely available that is," Mr Keelty said.

Sidney Jones, Southeast Asian director of the International Crisis Group, said it was likely the three bombers were Azahari and Top recruits.

"We had heard there was a new super-secret special forces unit that was being put together and attracting very young people from Jemaah Islamiah and other organisations," she said. "This could be their first operation."

The four militants they recruited to help in the Australian embassy attack in Jakarta last November were wearing vests filled with bullets and shrapnel with detonator cords ready to be pulled when police caught them.

Azahari and Top were central to Indonesia's three most recent terrorist attacks: the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, the 2003 blast at Jakarta's Marriott hotel and the bombing of the Australian embassy. All three attacks involved suicide bombers.

JI and other Indonesian extremist groups rarely claim credit for attacks, although Bali bomber Imam Samudra said on a website the attacks were his handiwork.

Ms Jones, known for her research into JI and other networks, said while the blasts were in their style, Azahari and Top were not the only JI militants at large.

Along with identification of the remains of the bombers, forensic investigation will probably provide the most clues, Ms Jones said, and police would likely begin with the type of explosives used and work backwards from there.

"The wiring (of the devices) might also give a clue if it's Azahari's work," she said.

The police forensic laboratory in Bali confirmed tests were under way to determine the nature of the explosives.

Mr Keelty agreed the modus operandi of the weekend blasts was similar to that used by JI.

"Bali is considered quite a softer target than other parts of Indonesia. We'd certainly been aware of threats within Jakarta but nobody was aware of any threats in Bali."

© The Australian
 


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