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Dismissed air force officer built Bali bomb

A former Indonesian air force officer, dismissed from service, has confessed to assembling the deadly bomb that killed at least 181 people in the island of Bali on Sunday, the Washington Post said.

The suspect, detained by authorities, said he regretted the huge loss of life in Saturday's attack, but has not revealed who had asked him to build the C-4 plastic explosive, the report on Wednesday said.

The former officer had trained in explosives while serving in the Indonesian Air Force, which later dismissed him for misconduct.

The material used for the bomb that destroyed the Sari Club in the resort of Kuta in Bali is similar to the one used to destroy the Jakarta residence of Philippine ambassador to Indonesia in August 2000.

That attack was blamed on the radical outfit Jamaah Islamiah, headed by Indonesian cleric Abubakar Baasyir, and is active in several Southeast Asian countries.

The Indonesian government had know about the plan to attack the ambassadors house a week in advance and tightened security at more than 60 locations. But the resort island of Bali had not been counted as a target.

A team of around 5,400 police officials from Indonesia, Australia, Britain, Germany, Japan, and the United States are investigating the blast in Bali.

Police said that they are 'intensively' interrogating two men in connection with the blast. They said they have already questioned 50 people.

Indonesia and Western governments have blamed Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network and its local allies for the blast.

PTI

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