Police question two men over Bali bombing

Indonesian officials were today questioning a security guard and another man about the deadly nightclub bombing in Bali and say traces of C-4 plastic explosives were found at the scene of the blast in which up to 33 Britons were believed killed.

With Indonesia under increasing international pressure to combat terrorism, a violent Muslim group with ties to Indonesia’s military disbanded yesterday – the first apparent sign the government was getting serious about moving against Islamic extremism.

The announcement by the group, Laskar Jihad, came as the accused spiritual leader of another extremist network linked to the al-Qaida terror network said he would submit to police questioning.

Most of the nearly 200 victims of Saturday’s blast were foreign tourists, and the grim toll prompted calls for Indonesia to crack down on al-Qaida terrorists and local allies blamed for the bombing.

Police spokesman Major General Saleh Saaf said police have questioned at least 47 people about the blast – and that a security guard and another man were being “intensively interrogated”.

He denied reports the two had been arrested.

The second man was the brother of a man whose identification card was found at the blast scene, intelligence officers said.

Traces of the military explosive C-4 – a putty-like plastic explosive used in the attack two years ago on the USS Cole in Yemen – were found at the scene, National Police Chief Da’i Bachtiar said.

In past cases in Indonesia, whenever C-4 has been found in any bombing it has been traced to the military, raising speculation the explosive was bought or stolen from military stocks.

Days after the explosion ripped through the jammed Sari Club, Bali was still struggling to cope with the corpses.

At the island’s main hospital – now largely used as a morgue – dozens of volunteers iced down bodies or loaded them into refrigerated containers to slow decomposition in the tropical heat.

Dozens of shoulder-high flower wreaths were left at the edge of the morgue, where hundreds of people waited, watched over by armed Indonesian soldiers.

Indonesia’s intelligence chief, Mohamad Abdul Hendropriyono, told reporters his organisation was cooperating with foreign agencies in the investigation.

“This attack has been well planned and it required expertise in handling high-tech (bombs),” he said.

The Indonesian government is in a delicate position – looking for ways to prevent terrorism without sparking further attacks or unrest in the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

Laskar Jihad’s dissolution is a relatively easy way for Jakarta to show its willingness to fight terrorism, and perhaps gain ground in its efforts to restart US military aid.

The group is not suspected in the Bali bombings, but putting it out of operation gives the government much-needed public relations points amid accusations it has turned a blind eye to extremist violence.

In recent months, the activities of the group, which has deep ties to Indonesia’s military, have become an increasing embarrassment for authorities.

Achmad Michdan, legal adviser to Laskar Jihad, which has waged sectarian warfare against Christians on the outlying Maluku islands, told reporters in Jakarta the group was disbanding.

Michdan insisted the decision was not connected to the bombing and was rooted in theological issues. “It is an internal matter,” he said.

In Australia, Prime Minister John Howard said his nation would try to get the UN to list Jemaah Islamiyah – a shadowy pan-Asian network believed linked to al-Qaida and suspected of involvement in the nightclub bombing – as a terrorist organisation.

The suspected spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah said he would voluntarily submit to police questioning. Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir planned to meet with police today in Jakarta, said his brother Umar Bashir.

The meeting was in connection with a libel case Abu Bakar Bashir has filed against Time magazine, which recently published allegations that implicated him in other terrorist activities, his brother said. Abu Bakar Bashir has denied involvement in Saturday’s blast.