Two Indonesians Being Questioned in Baali Attack

[Manu]

KUTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Officials in Indonesia are questioning two Indonesian nationals in connection with the deadly bomb attack in Bali as the difficult work of finding the missing and identifying the dead continues.

"We are interrogating two people intensively. One said he was present when the incident occurred," National Police Chief Da'i Bachtiar told reporters, adding that both were Indonesians.

The other person was related to someone whose identification was found at the blast site but as yet had not been located, he said.

Indonesian officials also said traces of C4 explosives were found at the blast site.

The putty-like explosive was the same kind used in a blast in August 2000 outside the Philippine ambassador's home in Jakarta, CNN's Maria Ressa reported. That blast, in which two people died, was blamed on the group Jemaah Islamiah, which has been found to have ties to al Qaeda.

Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence officials said Tuesday they have information from "a number of sources" suggesting the bombing attacks were staged by Jemaah Islamiah. The information includes disclosure from a key prisoner in U.S. hands.

"Certainly, it was a sophisticated, well-coordinated attack," said one senior U.S. official, adding that Jemaah Islamiah may be the only group that could have pulled it off.

Kuwaiti-born Omar al-Faruq, who was arrested in Indonesia in June and is being held and interrogated at an undisclosed location by the United States, warned last month of plans for "large-scale" attacks in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, U.S. officials said.

Teams from Australia, the U.K. and the American FBI are headed for or are already in Bali to assist Indonesian police with both the forensic and intelligence side of the investigation.

Difficulty identifying the dead
At the same time doctors and morgue volunteers say they are finding it increasingly difficult to put names to the scores of unidentified dead found in and around the Kuta nightclub.

They say many of those killed in the attack on the Sari Club were either burned beyond recognition or blown to pieces by the massive force of the huge car bomb.

By Tuesday afternoon local time the death toll stood at over 180, but only a relatively small number of the bodies had been positively identified. (Death toll: Country breakdown)

As the hunt for the bombers intensifies a growing number of politicians and terrorism experts are pointing to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network and their Indonesian associates Jemaah Islamiah as the prime suspects in carrying out the attack.

They believe that only these groups together have the organizational capabilities and motivation to carry out what appears to have been a series of coordinated bombings. (Who bombed Bali?)

The blast was the seventh major attack in the region in the past three weeks and occurred on the second anniversary of the bombing of the USS Cole in the Gulf of Aden.

"I am convinced that al Qaeda is in Indonesia," Indonesian Defense Minister Matori Abdul Djalil said Monday. "I don't have any doubts about it." (Indonesia points to al Qaeda)

His comments were the first admission from a senior Indonesian official that the terrorist network had extended its reach to Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country.

After an emergency cabinet meeting yesterday, Indonesian officials said they were stepping up security around the country's vital oil and gas depots, as well as at Western embassies and other possible terrorist targets.

Pressure growing
Meanwhile political pressure is growing on the Indonesian government to cooperate more closely with Western intelligence agencies to clamp down on terrorism.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who has also said al Qaeda may have been involved in the attack, said Tuesday he expected "100 percent commitment" from the Indonesian authorities in the hunt for the bombers.

The overwhelming majority of those killed are thought to have been young Australians with more than 200 listed as missing as of Tuesday.

With security tightened and flags flying at half-staff across Australia, many in the country are referring to Saturday's bombing as Australia's own September 11. (Australia's fears)

Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Howard said Indonesia had to now work with Australia, the United States and Britain to find those responsible for the attack.

In the wake of the 9/11 attacks on Washington and New York last year Indonesian officials repeatedly denied that their country had become a base for terrorist groups.

Despite international calls, President Megawati Sukarnoputri has refused to order the arrest of high profile suspects named by outside intelligence agencies as having connections with terrorist organizations.

Analysts say that fear of provoking Indonesia's majority moderate Muslims had held authorities back from taking action.

Now though, international pressure on Jakarta is likely to be ramped up significantly.

Urgent
In Washington Monday, U.S. President George W. Bush said he planned to tell Megawati of Indonesia's urgent need to crack down on terrorism.

"I hope I hear the resolve of a leader who recognizes that any time terrorists take hold in a country it's going to weaken the country itself," he said. (Full story)

The Australian foreign and justice ministers have both traveled to Indonesia in a bid to keep up pressure on authorities there.

Also dispatched to Indonesia are some 40 Australian federal police and an undisclosed number of intelligence officials.

Speaking to reporters in Bali Monday evening Australian Foreign Minster Alexander Downer said he had stressed to Indonesian officials the importance of an international investigation into the attack.

"We're working very closely with Indonesia at the moment and it is very important we both hold exactly the same view about terrorism," he said.

"Indonesians were killed, Australians were killed and other nationalities were killed and we should work together," Downer added.

The fallout from attack is meanwhile continuing to hammer the Indonesian economy with stock values falling on the Jakarta exchange for the second straight day. (Business impact)

The value of the Indonesian currency, the rupiah, has also slumped yet further as tourists take the advice of their embassies and leave the country.

Analysts say the impact on tourism in Indonesia -- a key earner for one of Southeast Asia's most troubled economies -- is likely to be long lasting and hit the country hard.
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