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Hunt for key Bali suspects

BALI (INDONESIA): Investigators hunting for the masterminds of three suicide bombings on the popular resort island of Bali hoped to quickly identify the bombers on Monday with photographs of their severed heads circulating in newspapers nationwide.

Accomplices

Police also sought three accomplices believed to still be on the Indonesian resort island, and enlisted a former operative of Southeast Asia's top terror group to help track down the plotters of Saturday's attack, which killed 22 persons, including the bombers, and wounded 104.

The suspects in the near-simultaneous bombings on three crowded restaurants were believed to have used explosive vests — loaded with ball bearings to maximize the damage — that blew apart their torsos. But their heads were intact, swollen and bruised but remarkably well-preserved, said Indonesian anti-terror official Maj. Gen. Ansyaad Mbai. That — and a chilling video capturing a suspected bomber strolling past diners at one of the cafes moments before it was blown up — could provide a tremendous boost to the investigation.

Gen. Mbai said results could come within days, adding that police think at least three other people were involved in the attacks and probably were still at large on Bali.

``If the past is any precedent, they have planned safe houses and lying low,'' said Ken Conboy, a Jakarta-based security consultant. — AP

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