Jakarta, Aug 08: Police today said the suspected suicide bomber in the Marriott blast that killed 10 people had been "recruited" by the al-Qaeda linked regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah. Two Jemaah Islamiyah members already in custody were shown a reconstructed photograph of the alleged bomber, identified him and admitted to having recruited him, said Indonesian chief of detectives Erwin Mappaseng.
The pair, Mappaseng said, identified the man in the photograph -- whose severed head was found at the bomb site -- as Asmar Latin Sami, a 28-year-old man from the island of Sumatra.
"The two Jemaah Islamiyah members recruited Asmar Latin Sani," Mappaseng told reporters. "According to the two and Asmar's brother, they identified the face on the severed head as Asmar, based on a scar on his left temple." Mappaseng gave no more details, but his comments are the latest indication that Jemaah Islamiyah, the group accused of carrying out last year's deadly nightclub blasts on Bali, was also behind Tuesday's blast.
Mappaseng identified the two Jemaah Islamiyah operatives as Sardono Siliwangi and Mohammad Rais. He said the two were arrested in June and accused of involvement in bombings and robberies on Sumatra, Indonesia's westernmost island.
Officials have already said the hotel attack, which also injured nearly 150 people, was similar to the October 12 Bali blasts that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. Bureau Report