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Details emerge on Bali bombings
(CNN) -- Authorities in Indonesia are intensively questioning two more Indonesians over the deadly Bali bombings, bringing the total to four, but say they haven't arrested any suspects. National Police spokesman Saleh Saaf denied on Thursday reports that some suspects had been formally detained as suspects over the carnage. "I would like to clarify that we haven't arrested anyone yet, we were doing intensive questioning of two people but this is now four," Saaf told a news conference. Two Indonesians, both believed to be residents of Bali but not local Balinese have undergone interrogation since Sunday. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the blasts which killed more than 180 people and injured hundreds. As the international hunt for the culprits continues, details are emerging from investigations into the events of the night of October 12. News reports say that the probe is focusing on a group of foreigners who arrived in Indonesia two days before the blasts. The Jakarta Post reported on Thursday that the suspected terrorist cell was led by a Yemeni and a Malaysian and entered the country through the city of Semarang, about 400km (250 miles) east of Jakarta. The other nationalities of the group were unknown, the paper added, but said they believed to have prepared the explosives used to blow up the two bars in the popular Kuta district. Another report in the Koran Tempo newspaper, citing information from unnamed police and intelligence sources, said that seven Indonesians -- under the command of someone in the Middle East -- carried out the bombings. The seven had since left Bali, the Tempo reported. The actual method of the attack was well coordinated and carefully designed to maximize the death toll, investigators said. Explosives-laden minibusAustralian media reported on Thursday that a Mitsubishi minibus packed with explosives had become the focus of a joint probe by Australian police, the FBI and Indonesian authorities. The Daily Telegraph reported that investigators believe that as the L-300 minibus made its way along Kuta's congested Legian Street, a man walked towards Paddy's Discotheque carrying a white plastic bag believed to contain some sort of explosive device. Just after 11:05 p.m. local time, guards at Paddy's -- which is just across the road from the Sari Club -- spotted the man, who threw the bag into the discotheque and fled before the guards could stop him. At the same time, the minibus had parked illegally outside the Sari Club, blocking traffic, the Telegraph report said. A person, described by a witness as a woman, jumped out of the driver's seat and ran into a waiting Kijang, an Indonesian brand four-wheel drive. The Kijang then drove away, leaving behind a worsening traffic jam. Shortly after, the device in the plastic bag in Paddy's detonated. Connection to other bombings?Reports indicate that the explosion drew people out of the crowded Sari Club and onto the street near the minibus. The minibus then exploded, possibly detonated by a remote control. The Sari Club and two other buildings were destroyed, and hundreds of people killed or maimed. The strength of the explosion hurled a tire from the minibus 100 meters (330 feet) up the street, the Daily Telegraph said. Its axle was found on the roof of a building 30 meters (100 feet) from the bombsite. The Australian newspaper reported that tests showed that four substances may have been used in the explosive device -- C4, RDX, AMX and nitrate. RDX is short for the specialized explosive material cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine, a substance used often by engineers to cut through steel columns. RDX-based explosive compounds expand at a very high rate of speed, the high velocity allowing it to slice through steel. The Telegraph report said that investigators intended to cross-check samples from the Bali blasts to see if it is of the same variety as the explosives used on the USS Cole two years ago or the materials intended for a foiled bomb attack on the U.S. Embassy in Singapore. The Singapore plot was averted after authorities arrested 15 people in January. Investigators hope that identifying the explosives used, and any links they may have to other bomb attacks or plots, may lead to the perpetrators of the bombings. World leaders and officials have voiced suspicion the attack was planned by the al Qaeda terrorist network, possibly in conjunction with the Jemaah Islamiya regional Islamic militant group.
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