JAKARTA, Nov 24 (AFP) - Indonesian police said Wednesday they have arrested four key Muslim extremists for the deadly bombing of Australia's Jakarta embassy in what was hailed as a breakthrough in the hunt for militants behind a series of attacks in the country.
National police chief Da'i Bachtiar said the four included associates of two fugitive Malaysian explosives experts accused of masterminding the September 9 embassy blast in which 11 died as well as the Bali bombings.
The October 2002 Bali blasts, in which 202 died, and other attacks in the world's largest Muslim-populated country have been blamed on the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah regional extremist group.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the arrests showed the determination of Indonesia's police in capturing the bombers, while the country's Justice Minister Chris Ellison hailed them as a "major breakthrough".
Ellison said Canberra wanted to follow up possible links between the arrested men and the Bali bombings, which claimed the lives of 88 Australians.
Bachtiar said one of those arrested, Sogir, also known as Ansori, was a skilled bomb-maker who played a "significantly important" role in the embassy attack as an associate of Malaysian bomb-makers Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohammed Top.
Three other men captured during the raids were Hasan, Apuy alias Syaiful Bahri and another close associate of the Malaysians, Rois, alias Iwan Darmawan. All four could be charged under anti-terror laws which carry a maximum sentence of death.
The police chief said Rois had been in charge of recruiting Heri Golun, the suicide bomber at the wheel of a minivan packed with explosives when it detonated near the embassy gate, causing massive damage to surrounding buildings.
Rois also bought the vehicle used in the bombing, took part in assembling the explosives used in the attack, trained the others and had been tasked to find safe houses for Azahari and Noordin, he said.
Bachtiar said Hasan, who provided a hiding place in the East Java town of Blitar for Azahari and Noordin in June this year, fled with Azahari to the West Java town of Cikampek on a motorcycle after the blast.
He said Apuy took part in military training led by Rois in the West Java area of Pelabuhan Ratu after being recruited by Rois.
At a press conference in Jakarta, police displayed battery-powered explosive devices containing TNT and ammunition for handguns which Bachtiar said were seized from the four during raids.
More than 20 people have so far been detained in connection with the embassy bombing which has seen thousands of police deployed in an extensive dragnet operation across the country amid fears of further attacks on western targets.
The operation has been seen as a test for newly-elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who played heavily on his anti-terror credentials in securing his election victory and courting international support.
Former general Yudhoyono was security minister under previous president Megawati Sukarnoputri, heading up the hunt for those behind the Bali bombings and an August 2003 attack on the Jakarta Marriott hotel in which 12 died.
More than 30 people have been jailed in connection with the Bali blasts, with three on death row -- convictions which analysts say have hurt Jemaah Islamiyah but failed to eliminate it, particularly with skilled recruiters Azahari and Noordin still at large.
11/24/2004 08:09 GMT - AFP