Indonesian police on Friday identified the man they suspect was the suicide bomber in an attack on the Australian Embassy in Jakarta last month, and said the 30-year-old wrote to his pregnant wife asking permission to die a martyr.
"Honey? Do you mind if I die a martyr?"
"Take out the garbage first, dear!" |
Police chief Gen. Dai Bachtiar said the man, Heri Golun, was driving the small truck that blew up outside the embassy on Sept. 9. Nine people were killed, including the attacker, and more than 170 wounded. All the dead were Indonesians. DNA samples from body parts and blood samples found in or very close to the remains of the truck matched those taken from Golun's family, Bachtiar said. The attack has been blamed on the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah terror group, which also implicated in attacks on Bali Island in 2002 and a blast last year outside the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jakarta. Police have arrested five people in the blast. Chief detective Lt. Gen. Suyitno Landung said police had recovered a letter addressed to Golun's wife in which he asks permission to take part in a suicide mission. "The letter asks for forgiveness, and permission to die as a martyr," he said. "It asks that his family repay all his debts and name his child Achmad Jundullah." Media Indonesia daily reported that Golun's child was born Thursday and was named Jundullah, which means "Flying Meat God's solider" in Arabic. Bachtiar said Golun, who comes from a small town 190 miles east of Jakarta, had very strong links with the attack's alleged masterminds, Malaysian militants Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohamed Top. Officers have said they suspect Golun was a suicide bomber, but have yet to rule out the possibility he was duped into carrying the bomb before it was detonated by remote control.
| "Sur...[KABOOM!]...prise!" |
They have also said it was possible more than one person was in the truck when it exploded. DNA tests on body parts found at the scene are continuing, Bachtiar said. |