CCTV images show people running in panic amid
the smoke and dust |
Police
in Jakarta have uncovered the chassis number of the van thought to
have been used in last Thursday's bomb attack outside the Australian
embassy.
Similar information proved vital in the hunt for those behind the
Bali bombings in October 2002.
Police have also found traces of chemicals used the bomb at a
house near Jakarta.
At least nine people were killed in Thursday's explosion, and
more than 180 were wounded.
"The chassis number of the vehicle used in the bombing has been
discovered," Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said
on Monday.
"People might recall that that was one of the early leads in the
Bali bombing that led to the identification of those responsible,"
Mr Keelty said.
There is mounting speculation that the militant network behind
the Bali attack - Jemaah Islamiah - also carried out the Australian
embassy bombing.
Chemicals found
Investigations into the blast continued on Monday, with
Australian forensic experts helping Indonesian police in their
search for clues.
Indonesian police chief General Da'i Bachtiar confirmed that
investigators had discovered traces of TNT and sulphur nitrate -
chemicals used in the embassy bomb - at a house near Jakarta.
Police say they believe the bomb, made from around 200kg of
explosives, was packed into the back of a white minivan and
detonated as close as possible to the target.
Police said this vehicle carried the bomb
|
Indonesian
police say they have also found suicide notes from men suspected of
taking part in the attack.
"We have found letters for their parents which said that they
were going to carry it (the suicide bombing) out," Mr Bachtiar told
reporters.
Investigators are trying to determine whether the remains of two
unidentified bodies at the scene of the explosion are those of the
suicide bombers.
DNA samples taken from the remains have been sent to Australia
for further analysis.
The authorities in Malaysia are also helping in the hunt for the
perpetrators of the bomb attack.
Indonesian police have named a fugitive Malaysian bomb-making
expert, Dr Azahari Husin, as a suspect, along with another Malaysian
JI member, Noordin Mohamad Top.
Malaysian Defence Minister Najib Razak told Reuters new agency
that he would not be surprised if Islamic radicals already on
Malaysia's most-wanted list were involved in Thursday's attack.
Increased security
Officials based in western embassies are continuing to warn of
the possibility of another attack.
People are being advised to avoid large apartment complexes,
particular those in the same district as the Australian mission.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said over the weekend that
he would increase security at Australia's diplomatic missions around
the world in the wake of Thursday's attack.
The Australian embassy in Jakarta and its consulate in Bali will
be relocated, and bomb-proof windows will be installed in other
Australian embassies, Mr Howard said.
Mr Howard faces criticism in Australia, after both he and Foreign
Minister Alexander Downer said last week that an SMS message warning
of the attack had been sent to Indonesian police 45 minutes prior to
the blast.
The Indonesian police rejected the claim, and Australian
officials now concede that the SMS warning may never have existed.
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