Tipster IDs Bali bomber
2005-10-05 17:02
Bali - Indonesian police were pursuing a tip on Wednesday from a caller who claimed to have identified a gruesome photo of one of the Bali bombers as a student from an area famous for its hardline Islamic schools.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, meanwhile, said the deadly bombings had "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.
The possible lead was one of the few announced by police since they began circulating photographs of the three suicide bombers' severed heads, recovered from the attacks on crowded restaurants on the resort island.
The blasts on Saturday killed 22 and injured 104.
The tipster called police in Solo, a city on the main island of Java, and said one of the bombers had studied in the area - home to a hardline Islamic boarding school attended by several militants convicted in previous terror attacks, said Abdul Madjid, Solo's police chief commissioner.
"He identified one of the bombers," said Madjid, adding that he said the man's name was "Gareng".
Militants quizzed
Madjid provided no further information and said police were pursuing the lead.
Meanwhile, investigators across the country quizzed jailed militants for information about the bombers, said Bali police chief Major General I Made Mangku Pastika.
"We are also asking them whether they recognise these people or not. So far the detained terrorists do not know them," Pastika said.
Those questioned included Amrozi bin Nurhasyim and Imam Samudra, sentenced to death for their roles in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people.
Investigators also were analysing bomb scraps - pellets, batteries, cables and detonators - found at the scene.
On Bali, shops put up shatterproof glass and some hotels were hiring one security guard for every 10 rooms.
Police were on the streets and at the airport in force, and officials said searches and metal detector screenings would become even more common.
"Bags will be checked. Cars will be checked. This is an inconvenience, but it is for safety reasons," said Indonesian tourism minister Wacik.
- AP