Police tracking Trans TV footage in Bali bombing masterminds

Police tracking Trans TV footage in Bali bombing masterminds

The death toll from the weekend bombing of three restaurants in Jimbaran Beach and Kuta, to the south of the island, on Saturday has increased to 27. The incident has left about 122 people wounded. Jemaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaeda-linked Southeast Asian terrorist group, continues to be the prime suspect to have masterminded this incident.

The security officials have been continually examining the Trans TV footage which shows one of the suicide bombers walking into the restaurant with a back pack while many were enjoying a candlelit dinner at the sea beach restaurant. Moments later, there was a huge bang, people screaming in awe and despair and the room was filled with thick smoke.

There were simultaneous suicide bombings in two restaurants in Jimbaran and a third went off at Kuta, the site of October 2002 bombings. Till date 12 Indonesians, two Australians and one Japanese individual has been identified among the dead. The forensic experts have reported that 10 kilograms of TNT explosives packed with ball bearings were used in the bombings.

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According to a spokesman for Abu Bakar Bashir, the leader of the suspected Jemaah Islamiyah group and a prime suspect for the October 2002 bombings, he had no allegiance with these recent attacks, the Associated Press reported.

Rohan Gunaratna, head of terrorism research at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies in Singapore, has stated that the footprints of the attacks are very much indicative towards the involvement of Jemaah Islamiyah, even though there have been no claims of responsibility made from the group. The Indonesian President Suslio Bambang Yudhoyono had warned of increased potential for terrorist activities and had ordered for increased security on August 29 for a significant period of time. After condemning the gruesome incident, he further stated that more strikes are possible.

The Indonesian officials have also named two prime suspects for the incident who have been included in the most wanted list of terrorists since October 2002 Bali bombing. Malaysian Azahari Bin Husin, a.k.a. “Demolition Man” and Noordin Mohamed Top have been suspected to be involved in this incident and have been accused of al-Qaeda association.

Incidentally, the bombings have taken place before the Indonesian President is scheduled to meet Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Bali. There has been no official statement regarding a possible change in the schedule.