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Indonesian police searching for cars carrying explosives

Indonesian soldiers are searching for five cars believed to be carrying explosives constructed by a Malaysian member of the al-Qaeda linked Jemaah Islamiyah terror group, the Koran Tempo daily reported yesterday.

The alert was issued to troops in Indraymayu district, in West Java province, a local military chief told the paper.

Koran Tempo said the source of the warning was a military telegram that gave details of the cars, including their makes and license plate.

Rumors spread by cell phone text messages that identify particular cars as carrying explosives often circulate in Indonesia, but have previously been dismissed as hoaxes.

A military spokesman declined immediate comment on the report.

The report follows a flurry of warnings from the Australian and US governments and Indonesian police that militants belonging to Jemaah Islamiyah were poised to launch more attacks in the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Top of the police wanted list are two fugitive Malaysians alleged to be key members of the group: Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohamed Top.

The daily also said Mohamed Top constructed the bombs allegedly being carried in cars in West Java.

Jemaah Islamiyah is accused in the Oct. 12, 2002, bombings on the resort island of Bali that killed 202 people, most of them foreign tourists.

It is also blamed for last year's Sept. 9 attack on the Australian embassy that killed 10 people and the Aug. 5, 2003, Marriott hotel bombing that killed 12. Both blasts were in Jakarta.
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