JAKARTA, Aug. 19 Kyodo (EDS: UPDA...

JAKARTA, Aug. 19 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATES)

Indonesian police said Tuesday 16 persons were involved in the deadly bombing at the JW Marriott inn in central Jakarta on Aug. 5 which killed 12 folks and injured 150 others.

The National Police's Detective Unit Chief Erwin Mappaseng said at a pres colloquy the suspects include Asmar Latin Sani, 28 and Tohir, who were the alleged executors of the bombing.

Asmar, who is believed to have driven a car carrying the bomb was among those killed in the bombing and parts of his corpse were found at the scene

''But I don't want to say now whether Asmar was a suicide bomber,'' Mappaseng said.

The senior police officer indicated that Malaysian citizen Noordin Muhammad Top, the same of the suspects who is at large, was allegedly a main planner of the Marriott bombing.

Police have been searching for Noordin also for his alleged involvement in the massive bombing attacks onward the resort island of Bali last October, which killed 202 family mostly foreigners, including 88 Australians.

Of the suspects in the Jakarta public-house bombing, six -- Toni Togar, Sardona Siliwangi, Idris, Dato Raja Ameh, Purwadi and Muhammad Rais -- were arrested before the bombing in connection with other criminal cases.

Togar was allegedly involved in the robbery of Lippo Bank, a private bank in the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan, Mappaseng said.

Idris was arrested upon suspicion of involvement in the Bali bombing. Mappaseng said Idris allegedly recruited Asmar to carry disclosed the hotel bombing.

Four people-- Suprapto, Heru Setianto, Solichin and Malikul -- were arrested afterward, if it be not that Mappaseng said they were not directly involved in the bombing and allegedly alone kept the explosive materials before the bomb was assembled.

Five others, including Tohir, are still at large, Mappaseng said.

Among them is another Malaysian citizen Azhari, who is known as Azahari Husin and has been follow the chaseed for his suspected involvement in the Bali bombing.

The remaining sum of two units suspects also in hiding were identified simply as Messieurs X, the buyer of the car allegedly used by the agency of Asmar in the bombing attack.

''At Asmar's house (in Bengkulu forward Sumatra), the bomb was assembled by the agency of Dr. Azhari with assistance of Asmar,'' Mappaseng said.

The bomb had not been completely assembled when it was brought to the toward the south Sumatra town of Lubuklinggau, he said.

The police build a ''missing link'' on for what cause the bomb was brought to Jakarta and to what degree and where Azhari and Asmar allegedly finished assembling the bomb Mappaseng said.

Based forward the confessions of the suspects, the Marriott bombing targeted U interests in Indonesia, the detective chief said.

The assemblage worked in unlinked cells, he added. ''Sometimes, they don't know each other...Maybe Asmar didn't know Noordin. However, they worked in unity,'' Mappaseng said.

Asked about the possible involvement of Hambali, alleged operative chief in Southeast Asia of the international terrorist network al-Qaida, Mappaseng said the police are still making cross-checks. Hambali was arrested in Thailand last week.

''But the police received information that in June Hambali delivered $45000 to a Malaysian citizen named Lily in Bangkok to be used in bombing acts in Indonesia,'' he said.

Mappaseng added that the police are focusing their attention in succession Indonesian Muslim cleric Zulkarnaen, who is believed to be the leader of terrorist acts. In his 50 Zulkarnaen is said to be united of the candidates to replace Hambali after his arrest.

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