Indonesia police refuse to deny confession report
BALI, Indonesia (Reuters) - The police chief of the Indonesian island of Bali said on Wednesday he would not confirm nor deny a report that a former air force member had confessed to building bombs that killed 181 people in weekend blasts.
"Later that information will be developed. I will give that to investigators," Budi Setyawan told reporters.
"We will develop that," he said when asked whether he could confirm or deny the report in The Washington Post. The Post sourced its information to an unnamed Indonesian security official linking the former Indonesian air force member to the explosions.
No group has claimed responsibility for Saturday's blasts, that killed mostly foreign tourists, but national police chief Da'i Bachtiar has told reporters authorities were "intensively" interrogating two Indonesians.
Indonesia on Monday for the first time linked Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network to the blasts, and U.S. President George W. Bush said he also believed the group, blamed for the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, was involved.
Regrets??
this is an odd thing to say, he didn't realize this bomb would kill people??
Wednesday, October 16, 2002. Posted: 14:36:46 (AEDT)
Indonesian officer confesses to assembling Bali bomb: report
Indonesian police have arrested a former air force officer who confessed to building the bomb which killed more than 180 people on the island of Bali, a US report said.
Quoting Indonesian security sources, the Washington Post said the suspect regretted the huge loss of life in Saturday's attack but had yet to reveal who ordered him to build the bomb.
The report, carried on the website of the International Herald Tribune, said the suspect had learned to handle explosives while serving in the Indonesian air force, which later dismissed him for misconduct.
Investigators have already revealed that the powerful C4 military explosive was used to build the huge bomb that destroyed the Sari Club in the resort of Kuta which was packed with foreign tourists.
The security sources also told the Washington Post that the Indonesian government had learned a week before the attack that Islamic extremists were planning to carry out a bombing.
The report said security was heightened at more than 60 locations around the country, but that it was not thought the popular resort island of Bali would be targetted.
An international task force of police officers from Indonesia, Australia, Britain, Germany, Japan and the United States has been assembled to track down the Bali bombers.
So far nobody has claimed responsibility.
The men had been questioned for several hours after the identity card of one of them was found at the site of the attack.
Victims came from about two dozen countries Australia, Britain and Indonesia suffered the highest number of casualties Most of those injured were foreign tourists
Meanwhile, police have denied media reports that a third man - a former air force member - had confessed to building the device.
But a spokesman confirmed that the officer was being questioned - he had the expertise to make such a bomb and was living in Bali....SNIP...
KUTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- One of Indonesia's most militant Muslim groups, Laskar Jihad, famed for waging a holy war against Christians in the eastern Maluku islands, has disbanded and closed its headquarters.
The closure came shortly after the deadly Bali blast over the weekend. To date, no one has linked Laskar Jihad to the explosion...
Laskar Jihad's official website, which is often filled with anti-Western, anti-American, anti-Christian rhetoric has also been shut down. A notice on the webpage dated October 12, said the website was temporarily shut.
In Maluku's provincial capital of Ambon, 700 Laskar Jihad members left the island on a ship on Tuesday.
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I wish the Indonesian police would go ahead and torture the info out of him...but their prime minister is more afraid of the terrorists in her country than the public is.