Van chassis number found in embassy bomb probe
Police investigating the deadly suicide attack on Australia’s embassy in Jakarta have found the chassis number of the van that carried the bomb, a key piece of evidence in their hunt for the killers.
Australian Federal Police commissioner Mick Keelty said today the number was a vital link to the bombers who killed nine and injured scores more outside the heavily fortified building last Thursday.
“The chassis number has been located and, for people who remember the Bali bombings, it was the chassis number that led to the early identification of those involved,” Keelty told reporters in Sydney. “The critical lead is the vehicle itself.”
Dozens of Australian federal police officers are involved in the Jakarta investigation, including several who also took part in the hunt for those responsible for the October 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people.
Keelty repeated that authorities in Indonesia and Australia have no doubt as to who the chief suspects in the bombings are – Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Top, two Malaysians who authorities say are key members in Jemaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaida-linked group that has claimed responsibility for the Jakarta blast.
