NC Surf Reports from Onshore Surf Shop: For the Bali Bombing Questions``

[ Post a Response | NC Surf Reports from Onshore Surf Shop ]

For the Bali Bombing Questions``

Posted by jt on 10/17/2002, 3:57 pm
63.144.187.165

courtesy of Rory Cakkinan Via Scott Bass of surfer mag.

this is the official how it happened..

By RORY CALLINAN in Kuta
17oct02
A MITSUBISHI minibus packed with plastic explosives snaked its way through
Kuta's tourist strip at 11p, on Saturday on a terror mission which has now
claimed a confirmed 30 Australian lives.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal that the L-300 minibus, loaded with a mix of
C-4 and other explosives, has emerged as the focus of the joint
investigation by the Australian Federal Police, the FBI and the Indonesian
authorities.
The revelation comes amid unconfirmed reports that Indonesian police have
arrested a former air force officer who confessed to making the bomb that
killed more than 180 people.
It is understood the officer has not yet revealed which organisation ordered
him to build the bomb.
Indonesian police said last night they were about to formally arrest four
people as suspects in the bombing, but it was unclear if the officer was
among them.
The four, held in a police station in Denpasar, were said to be undergoing
"intensive questioning".
Police spokesman Brigadier-General Saleh Saaf said one of the four was in
the Kuta area when the bomb exploded and was linked to a man whose ID card
was found at the scene. The other person was related to the owner of the ID
card, Brig-Gen Saaf said.
The explosives inside the minibus caused such a massive explosion that its
axle was found 30m from the detonation site.
The minibus, which may have been fitted out as a taxi, was undetectable
among the vehicles along Kuta's congested main tourist drag, Legian St.
While the vehicle crept through the traffic, a man was walking slowly
towards Paddy's Discotheque ? just across the road from the Sari Club ?
carrying a white plastic bag which is believed to have contained a
detonating device.
About 11.05pm local time, the guards at Paddy's Discotheque saw the man with
the bag.
About 25m away, the minibus with its deadly load rolled to a stop and parked
illegally outside the Sari Club.
It caused immediate chaos, blocking the one-way street and creating an
instant traffic jam. The man with the plastic bag flung it into the
discotheque before security guards could stop him and ran, according to
local press reports.
In front of the Sari Club, a person described by a passing driver as a
woman, leapt from the driver's seat of the minibus and ran to a waiting
kijang, an Indonesian-brand four-wheel drive.
The Java-registered kijang then accelerated away, leaving the traffic jam
building in its wake. A security guard at one of the clubs is understood to
have run down the street to see where the bus's driver had gone, Balinese
traders in the area said.
A few seconds later the device in the plastic bag thrown into Paddy's
Discotheque detonated, causing carnage in the club and on the street.
Some reports said Sari Club patrons rushed out to the street in a panic ?
and into the next killing zone, beside the minibus packed with explosives.
Somewhere up the road, one of the terrorists is believed to have activated a
radio-controlled device which sent a signal to the bomb bus.
The signal triggered the massive bomb obliterating the Sari Club and two
other buildings, killing and maiming hundreds.
The blast hurled a tyre from the mini bus containing traces of explosives
100m up the street.
The axel of the bus was found on the roof of a building 30m away. It too has
traces of RDX, according to Bali police chief Brigadier General Budi
Setyawan.
According to The Australian newspaper today, forensic tests have shown the
explosive device in the bus may have contained four ingredients. As well as
C-4, the other substances detected are RDX, AMX and nitrate.
The additional ingredients add to a belief of Australian intelligence chiefs
that the explosive came from the same source as that intended to blow up the
US consulate in Singapore.
Investigators intend to cross-check residue samples from the Bali blast to
see whether it is the same explosive used in the attack on the USS Cole this
month and a foiled bombing of the US consulate in Singapore.
In other developments yesterday, the Federal Government offered a $2 million
reward for information leading to the prosecution of those responsible for
the Bali bombings.
And Indonesia has agreed to allow Australia to jointly investigate the
bombings following a meeting in Jakarta yesterday with Indonesian President
Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said: "We have agreed that Australia and
Indonesia will establish a join investigation and intelligence team to work
through the issues flowing from the tragedy in Bali."