Bogged Down in Bali

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If the old police adage that most murders are solved in the first 24 hours is true, the investigation into the suicide bombings that killed 23 in Bali on Oct. 1 may be in deep trouble. Four weeks after the attacks, police and security officials say they are no closer to identifying the three men who carried out the attacks and are still clueless about what kind of explosives were used. Five arrests have been made, but all those detained have now been cleared and released.

By contrast, four weeks after the Oct.12, 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202, police had already made several key arrests and the first detentions in a sweep that eventually netted all but a few of the plotters. Why the big difference? For one thing, the original Bali attacks—as well as the subsequent bombings of Jakarta's Australian embassy and JW Marriott hotel—involved vehicles, whose metal frames absorbed telltale traces of the explosives used. The most recent bombs were set off by individuals carrying backpacks filled with explosives, which left only tiny amounts of residue for police to analyze, says a security official familiar with the investigation. It will be weeks, he adds, before there is any certainty about the kind of explosives used.

Attempts to identify the bombers by circulating an estimated 300,000 photos of their severed but still recognizable heads have also drawn a blank. Police say they plan to distribute another 300,000 copies across the archipelago. Last week, they also offered a hundred million rupiah reward—about $10,000—for anyone who can identify one of the bombers. The police have offered up to 1 billion rupiah, or $100,000, for help that leads to the capture of the two Malaysian terrorist kingpins believed to be behind the attacks, Azahari Husin and Noordin Top—an amount that shows how worried the government is that they may be planning to strike again.