Military officer confesses to making bomb, newspaper reports

7:45pm

A former Indonesian air force officer has confessed to building the bomb that killed nearly 200 people in Bali, a US newspaper report said today.

The Washington Post said Indonesian security sources told the newspaper the suspect had been arrested and regretted the huge loss of life in Sunday's attack that destroyed the Sari Club in Kuta resort. However, the man had yet to reveal who ordered him to build the bomb.

The International Herald Tribune, in which the Post has a stake, carried the story on its website today.

The report said the suspect had learned to handle explosives while serving in the Indonesian air force, which later dismissed him for misconduct.

It has already been established by investigators that C4 military explosive was used to build the huge bomb.

The Washington Post also reported that the Indonesian government had learned a week before the attack that Islamic extremists were planning to carry out a bombing.

The report said although security was tightened at more than 60 locations around the country, Bali had not been one of them.

No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing, but Indonesia and Western governments have blamed Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network and its local allies.

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Feature: Bali bomb blast

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