The devastating bomb that ripped through a crowded nightclub area in Bali last Saturday contained plastic explosives, the Indonesian police revealed yesterday in the first clear sign that the explosion may have been planned by a sophisticated international organisation like al-Qaida, rather than a local group.
Balinese investigators were given expert support in their search for new clues by a growing international team of detectives. Forensic specialists from Scotland Yard joined agents from the FBI and 40 Australian federal police officers in picking through the scene of the blast.
Indonesian police said they were "intensively interrogating" two people and had already identified the material that fuelled the biggest bomb in the country's history: C-4 plastic explosive, which is very unusual in a nation where most bombs are crude hand-made devices.
Local media, citing unnamed police sources, said the C-4 had probably been mixed with TNT to produce a lethal cocktail with a powerful initial blast and a highly incendiary nature.
Though C-4 is widely available, the discovery of traces of the explosive at the scene of the Bali bombing provides circumstantial evidence of an al-Qaida link. The explosive was used in the attack on the American destroyer, the USS Cole, in the Yemeni port of Aden in October 2000. The suicide attack is attributed to al-Qaida terrorists.
"This attack has been well-planned and it required expertise in handling high technology," said Mohamad Abdul Hendropriyono, Indonesia's intelligence chief. "It is a very complicated task and it is outside the ability of local hands."
Australia's prime minister, John Howard, blamed al-Qaida and the local Jemaah Islamiyah group for the crime, which appears to have taken its heaviest toll on Australian tourists. "We will be moving to have Jemaah Islamiyah listed as a terrorist organisation in the United Nations as soon as possible and have received indications from other countries that the move will be supported," he said.
In response to growing allegations, Abu Bakar Ba'aysir, the leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, has said he will voluntarily answer any questions police might have.
Indonesian police are continuing to question two men after talking to almost 50 witnesses and possible suspects. One of the men, a bouncer at a Kuta nightclub, has reportedly told police that he saw someone leave a white carrier bag outside the Sari club shortly before the blast.
"When he walked up to the man, he ran away and afterwards the place exploded," said national police chief, Da'I Bachtiar.
The second man is said to have refused to answer questions after police found his identification papers on the floor near the scene of the crime. Neither man has been arrested.