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Indonesia warned of attack day before
bombing
Dan
McDougall
AS POLICE in Bali last
night detained for further questioning two suspects in the
nightclub bombing investigation, it emerged the US ambassador
had warned the Indonesian president of the dangers of a terror
attack just a day before the devastating explosion.
Security sources claimed that Ralph Boyce had spent
the past two months repeatedly telling the authorities in
Jakarta that an assault on the region by Islamic militants was
highly likely.
The warnings, made directly to Megawati
Sukarnoputri, the Indonesian president, coincided with a
decision by the US to temporarily close its embassies in
Jakarta and other regional capitals due to threats of terror
strikes around the 11 September anniversary.
It is
understood the alerts were made to the Jakarta administration
after the CIA arrested a leading al-Qaeda suspect who, under
interrogation, warned that south-east Asia, particularly
Indonesia, could be the target for a major attack.
In
Bali, Police Chief Budi Setyawan confirmed that two men
remained in custody on the island over the blast at the Sari
Club, Kuta, which killed at least 187 people, 29 of them
believed to be British.
He said neither of the
suspects was from the island. They are understood to be a
security guard and the brother of a man whose ID card was
found at the epicentre of the blast.
At the scene of
the bombing, forensic scientists from the Australia Federal
Police discovered what they believe could be a key piece of
evidence. The engine block of a Kijang vehicle, a popular
Indonesian-made car, was found among the debris and
investigators believe it is almost certainly a rental vehicle
which may provide a direct trace to whoever hired it out.
General Saleh Saaf, of the National Police, said
investigators had also found what they believed to be the
residue of other chemicals used in the bomb’s detonator. The
chemical traces, which included evidence of the explosive TNT
and the plastic explosive C4, were found on a motorbike parked
near the scene.
As the allegations of forewarning
emerged, Hassan Wirayuda, Indonesia’s foreign minister, said
his government was working on giving President Megawati the
authority to impose emergency anti-terrorism laws.
Despite the fact that no group has claimed
responsibility for the blasts, suspicion continues to fall on
Jemaah Islamiah, an Islamic extremist group linked to Osama
bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network.
Abubaker Baasyir, an
Indonesia-based Muslim cleric, is widely thought to be the
leader of the group, but he had still not been questioned last
night.
Dr Rohan Gunaratna, of the Centre for the Study
of Terrorism at St Andrews University’s , said Omar al-Faruq,
a senior member of al-Qaeda, admitted the network had sent
money to Jemaah Islamiah to buy explosives .
Al-Faruq,
who is being held in Afghanistan, told US interrogators that
$73,000 was sent from Saudi Arabia to Baasyir, according to Dr
Gunaratna, who said he had seen a copy of a US report into his
interrogation.
He added: "The report pre-dates the
Bali attacks, but what is of significance is the information
pertaining to Baasyir’s role in procuring explosives.
"It refers to the transmission of $73,000 from Saudi
Arabia to Baasyir, which he used to buy explosives."
Dr Gunaratna said the interrogation report indicated
"significant involvement" of al-Qaeda in Jemaah Islamiah.
His colleague, Professor Magnus Ranstorp, warned
al-Qaeda was likely to continue aiming for "easy targets like
tourists and Westerners living abroad".
He said: "The
Bali attack will show al-Qaeda that tourists are the perfect
targets. It doesn’t take too much for small, isolated,
terrorist cells to target tourists and cause massive amounts
of damage." |
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