http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/2329189.stm
Explosives Used in Bali Likely of US Origin
Plastic Explosive Clue in Bali Bombing
BBC | World | Asia-Pacific
Wednesday, 16 October, 2002
Indonesian police investigating the devastating bombing of a nightclub
on the island of Bali have found traces of plastic explosive at the site
of the attack.
Police say C4 explosive was used - a type manufactured mainly in the
United States and used widely by military forces around the world.
This has prompted speculation that if Islamic militants carried out the
bombing, they may have had some help from elements in the Indonesian
military which have been involved with resurgent radical Islamic groups
since the fall of General Suharto in 1998.
Indonesian police spokesman Brigadier-General Saleh Saaf said: "We have
together with experts from the FBI processed the data jointly and we are
now really certain that C4 explosive was used".
The explosive and method used bear similarities to an August 2000
bombing in Jakarta which seriously injured the Philippine ambassador.
Philippine intelligence officials blamed the radical Islamic network
Jemaah Islamiah for that attack.
But C4 was also used in the bombing of the warship USS Cole in Yemen two
years ago - an attack attributed to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
Police are questioning two men in connection with the bombing in the
resort of Kuta on Saturday.
Indonesian police chief Da'i Bachtiar said the identity card of one of
the men was found close to the bomb site.
So far, the man has refused to say anything since being picked up.
But the discovery of traces of plastic explosive could be a vital clue
to who was responsible.
Any suspects, their clothing and their homes or workplaces can be
checked for matching materials.
Swabs, using a solvent, would be taken from skin, clothes and other
materials.
However, experts warn that traces of substances can be passed from one
person to another and are not in themselves indisputable evidence of
someone's involvement in a bombing.
Available 'at a price'
French news agency AFP quoted a British manufacturer of C4, Mark
Ribband, as saying that it is a white substance that resembles uncooked
pastry and needs a detonator to make it explode.
Mr Ribband said that it is "a standard issue, military explosive", the
trade in which is controlled carefully.
"It's considerably more controlled than heroin, but if you want to buy
heroin you can," he was quoted as saying.
"Like all things, everything's available for a price," Mr Ribband said.
C4 was widely used by US forces in the Vietnam war, and like semtex it
is hard to detect and easy to hide. It is stable, and therefore safe to
handle.
Experts from the US, Australia, France and Japan are helping the
Indonesian police with their investigations.
Brian Caddy, Emeritus Professor of Forensic Science at Strathclyde
University in Scotland, says that once the component substances in an
explosive have been identified, it might be possible to trace the
manufacturer.
Governments have lists of explosive makers and would be able to check
with them the make up of their products.
If that process is completed, then there would be a more lengthy and
laborious task of trying to track sales and distribution or even thefts
of an identified explosive.
The success of that search would depend on the accuracy of company
records.
As well as gaining clues from the type of explosive used, the discovery
of any parts of a timing, detonation or firing mechanism would boost the
investigation.
'Lacking experience'
Professor Caddy believes that although Indonesia is developing its own
forensic capabilities - they recently opened a new laboratory in Jakarta
- they lack the experience of Western scientists in this field.
Britain has well-developed facilities - such as the Forensic Explosives
Laboratory at Fort Halstead in Kent and the laboratory in Northern
Ireland which works to the government's Northern Ireland Office.
Forensic experts use any materials found at the scene of a bomb attack
to compare the explosives and mechanisms with those used in other such
attacks.
This enables them to see if there are any common substances or methods
of construction which could give clues to the identity of the bombers.
Serbian News Network - SNN
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http://www.antic.org/
