Police release Bali photofits
Police in Indonesia today released photos and sketches of six more suspects in last month’s bombings in Bali.
The details included those of the alleged leader of the group, who they said learned how to make bombs during several visits to Afghanistan.
Police also said the same group was responsible for an explosion near the honorary US consul in Bali minutes after the blasts at the Sari Club and Paddy’s bar on October 12, which killed nearly 200 people. No one was injured in the consul blast.
“We are confident they are still in Indonesia,” said lead investigator Major General I Made Mangku Pastika. “We want to arrest them as soon as possible. But it is not easy to catch them because Indonesia is so big. It will depend on who is luckier, the police or the suspects.”
The release of the photos and sketches comes nearly two weeks after police arrested the only suspect currently in custody, identified only as Amrozi.
Since his arrest on November 5 at home in Tenggulun, Amrozi has confessed to owning the explosive-laden minivan used in the attack outside the Sari Club and to having obtained the bomb-making materials, police say.
The main suspect at large is alleged ringleader Imam Samudra, 35, who Pastika said visited Afghanistan repeatedly and was responsible for a string of church bombings in Indonesia in 2000.
“We believe Samudra learned how to make bombs during several visits to Afghanistan,” Pastika said.
Police earlier linked Samudra to Jemaah Islamiyah, a shadowy pan-Asian network believed to have ties to al-Qaida.
Police said the other five suspects are: Amrozi’s brother Ali Imron, 30, a teacher at the Al-Islam Islam boarding school in Tenggulun and alleged courier for the group; Dulmartin, 32, a used car dealer who allegedly set off at least one of the bombs using a mobile phone; Umar alias Wayan, 35, who allegedly placed the bomb in Paddy’s; Idris, 35, who allegedly bought the motorcycle found at the blast scene and handled accommodations and financing for the group; and Umar, alias Patek, 35, who allegedly drove the motorcycle to the blast scene and is an assistant to Samudra.
Police said the group first met on August 2 in Solo, met three more times in Solo during August and September and then went to Bali on October 6, where they finalised the details.
Much of the information released today came from the lengthy interrogation of Amrozi, a 40-year-old motorcycle mechanic who is believed to be a low-level operative in the group.
Amrozi told investigators that he met in Malaysia with Jemaah Islamiyah’s operations chief, Riduan Isamuddin, also known as Hambali, and with its spiritual leader, Abu Bakar Bashir, police say.
