LAKSAMANA.Net, November 24, 2004 11:52 PM
Four Arrested Over Embassy Bombing
Laksamana.Net - Police have arrested four Islamic militants suspected of involvement
in the September 9 suicide car bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Kuningan,
South Jakarta.
The blast, which has been blamed on regional terrorism network Jemaah Islamiyah,
killed 11 people and injured more than 180.
National Police chief General Dai Bachtiar at a press conference on Wednesday
(24/11/04) announced the four men were nabbed on November 5 at different locations
in Bogor, West Java province.
"It was difficult to catch them because they had constantly been on the move," he
was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara.
The four are: Rois alias Iwan Darmawan; Hasan alias Purnomo alias Agung; Apuy
alias Syaiful Bahri alias Ramdani; and Ansori alias Sogir alias Abdul Fatah.
Indonesian terrorists generally have several aliases because they are able to buy false
identity cards from corrupt civil servants.
The four captured men are likely to be charged under Indonesia's anti-terrorism laws,
which carry the maximum penalty of death by firing squad.
Bachtiar said all four were wearing "sophisticated" suicide bombs around their waists
when they were arrested, but police managed to overpower them before they could
detonate the devices.
The arrests are a major breakthrough in the investigation. Bachtiar told reporters
police had not immediately publicized the arrests because they feared jeopardizing
the hunt for other militants still on the run.
Two key suspects who remain at large are Malaysians Noordin Muhammad Top and
Azahari Husin. The two are also suspected of involvement in the October 2002 Bali
nightclub bombings that killed 202 people and the August 2003 blast at Jakarta's JW
Marriott Hotel that killed 12 people.
Many Roles
Rois was the alleged field commander of embassy attack and had recruited several of
the perpetrators, including the suicide bomber, Heri Kurniawan alias Heri Golun, a
casual laborer from Kebon Pedes village in Sukabumi, West Java.
"Rois recruited Heri Golun and Syaiful Bahri [alias Apuy]. He later gave them military
training in Pelabuhan Ratu, West Java," Bachtiar was quoted as saying by detikcom
online news portal.
He said Rois also bought the minivan used in the bombing, took part in assembling
the bomb, and had been assigned to find safe houses for Noordin and Azahari.
Hasan had allegedly hidden Noordin and Azahari at his house on Blitar, East Java
province over May-June 2004. While at the house, Azahari allegedly held
bomb-making lessons for several militants.
Bachtiar said Hasan had helped assemble the bomb at a rented house at Cikande in
Serang city, Banten province, western Java.
He said Hasan and Azahari were near the embassy at the time of the bombing and
then fled the scene on a motorcycle to Cikampek, West Java.
Apuy was allegedly involved in the assembly of the bomb and had helped the bombers
rent several houses where they stayed before and after the attack. The houses
included the one in Cikande, as well as ones in Cicurug village in Sukabumi, and
Leuwiliang village in Bogor.
Explosives were accidentally detonated at the house in Cicurug on October 14,
prompting four men, Apuy, Hasan, Abdullah and Jabir, to flee the scene. Abdullah and
Jabir remain at large.
Unlike the other three arrested suspects, Ansori had not been on the police wanted
list, but Bachtiar said he had attended the Azahari's bomb-making lessons at Hasan's
house in Blitar since June and became a skillful bomb-maker. He later allegedly
helped assemble the bomb in Cikande.
The police chief then gave further details of the alleged roles of Noordin and Azahari in
the attack.
"Noordin planned, coordinated and financed [the bombing]. He prepared the
explosives and the detonator. He also selected the target of the bombing," said
Bachtiar.
"Azahari helped in the planning, the making of the car bomb and drove the minivan
before giving it to the suicide bomber Heri Golun," he added.
Bachtiar said Noordin and Azahari remain dangerous because they could be recruiting
more bombers, making new bombs and planning more attacks. But he expressed
hope that information from the captured suspects would enable police to find the two
fugitives.
Police have also offered the public a reward of Rp2 billion ($220,000) for information
leading to their arrest.
During the press conference, Bachtiar displayed the battery-powered suicide bombs
the four militants had been wearing. The devices included small electronic circuits,
circuit boards, plastic bags of TNT, handgun bullets that had been taped around the
explosives, and detonation cords.
National Police criminal investigation chief General Suyitno Landung declined to say
where the four captured men were being held.
More than 30 people have been detained by police for the embassy blast. Several
have been released due to insufficient evidence, while 12 have been declared
suspects, including eight accused of harboring Noordin, Azahari and Rois.
'Azahari Bribed Police'
Bachtiar said Rois revealed that Azahari had been stopped by traffic police on three
occasions after the embassy bombing but they failed to recognize him, and each time
he bribed them to avoid having to pay traffic fines.
He said Azahari was first stopped by police moments after the bombing when he was
fleeing on the back of the motorbike driven by Hasan.
Bachtiar said the bribery allegation made by Rois had not yet been proved true. "If it's
true, we will be introspective. Therefore, traffic police already [now] carry in their
pockets pictures of Azahari and Noordin Muhammad Top just to remember," he was
quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald daily.
No Interaction
Kamiluddin, the owner of the house in Leuwiliang village that was apparently occupied
by Rois and Apuy, told detikcom the two men had kept to themselves and never
interacted with neighbors or other locals.
He said they never went to the local mosque and only occasionally left the house to
buy food and other essential goods. The men did all of their cooking themselves, he
added.
The two had stayed in the house for just 16 days, from October 17 until they were
captured there on November 5, said Kamiluddin, who works as an administrative
official at a health clinic at the Mualimin Muhammadiyah Islamic Boarding School in
Leuwiliang.
He said the arrests took place unnoticed, because it was raining when the house
raided, while locals were busy breaking the Ramadhan fast.
Kamiluddin said he initially had no idea the two men were terrorists because they had
claimed to be sandal traders. He said Apuy had signed the rental contract and shown
him an identity card in the name of Ramdani, issued in Cibodas village, Pelabuhan
Ratu.
"At that time the other man did not introduce himself or hand over an identity card. I
didn't know then that man was Rois," he was quoted as saying by detikcom.
Kamiluddin said he had wanted to lease the house for one year, but Apuy wanted it
for only three months. "I offered it to him for Rp1.2 million a year. But Apuy did not
haggle over the price. He only haggled over the amount of time. He asked to rent the
house for only three months. Eventually a price of Rp300,000 up front in cash for three
months' rental was agreed on."
Detikcom said the simple blue two-story timber house measured 8 by 6 meters and
consisted of five rooms: a front room, a prayer room, a kitchen, a bedroom and a
bathroom.
Kamiluddin said that although he had rented the house to only two men, a third man
joined them a few days before the raid.
"They didn't allow me to see the other person living there. So I became suspicious,"
he said, adding the third man had appeared to be wounded. He said it was possible
the man had been injured during the accidental explosion in Cicurug.
Police seized the possessions of Rois and Apuy, but Kamiluddin later cleaned the
house and found several bandages and anti-bacterial dressings, such as Revanol and
Betadine.
He said he also found several copies of newspapers such as Koran Tempo, Media
Indonesia, Republika and Kompas, as well as powder from fireworks.
Australia Hails Arrests
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer congratulated Indonesia on the
arrests, saying they would help to reduce the capabilities of terrorists in Indonesia.
"They have been vigorous in tracking down and trying to bring to justice those
responsible," he said.
"It is helpful, of course it is. Rounding up more of these people, particularly those who
are organizers for terrorist attacks in Indonesia is very promising," he added.
He declined to say whether Australian police or intelligence agencies or police had
played a part in the arrests.
Australian Justice Minister Chris Ellison hailed the arrests as a "major breakthrough",
saying his government was keen to investigate possible links between the four men
and the Bali bombings.
Copyright © 2000 - 2004 Laksamana.net, All Rights Reserved.
|
