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| Southeast Asia | |
| Indonesia Questions Jailed Militants | |
| 2005-10-05 | |
| EFL: Police questioned several jailed militants across Indonesia on Wednesday, intensifying efforts to identify three suicide bombers who attacked crowded restaurants on the resort island of Bali. Investigators said they had received at least one phone call from a man who said he recognized one of the alleged bombers featured in grisly photos of the suspects' severed heads that have been circulating nationwide in newspapers and on TV. "He identified one of the bombers," said Abdul Madjid, the police chief in Solo, a city on the main island of Java. Madjid said the caller told police the man in the photo resembled a resident of Solo, the site of a hard-line Islamic boarding school attended by several notorious militants convicted in terrorist attacks. The dead man was only identified by one name, Gareng, and police were following up on the tip, Madjid said. The police chief didn't provide further details about the suspect or his school, saying only that the tip was being pursued.
Police said they questioned two convicted militants - Amrozi bin Nurhasyim and Imam Samudra - who were sentenced to death for their roles in the 2002 Bali bombings, said Bali police chief Maj. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika said. "We are also asking them whether they recognize these people or not. So far the detained terrorists do not know them," Pastika said. Southeast Asian nations have gone on high alert to prevent a repeat of the Bali bombings. Hundreds of thousands of troops were on standby, security was tightened on beaches and along borders. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Wednesday the bombings "have spoiled Indonesia's reputation in the eyes of the world." He called on his military to stamp out the scourge of terrorism in the world's most populous Muslim nation. On Bali itself, shops put up shatterproof glass and some hotels were hiring a security guard for every 10 rooms. Police were on the streets and at the airport in force, and officials say searches and metal detector screenings will become even more common. "Bags will be checked. Cars will be checked. This is an inconvenience, but it is for safety reasons," said Tourism Minister Wacik. "The world community has become more immune to bombs going off. London and Madrid recovered, and we will recover." Saturday's bombings have prompted new Indonesian calls for access to Riduan Isamuddin, a Southeast Asian terrorism mastermind detained by the United States since 2003. Washington has refused previous requests, saying it did not want to compromise an investigation of the Indonesian cleric, widely known as Hambali. | |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 The key question: "Cake or Death?" I think they're running short of cake. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-10-05 10:38 |