Farouk Arnaz – Achmad Yosepa Hayat and Muhammad Syarif were truly friends in life or death. Together the pair pledged allegiance to Abu Bakar Baasyir upon joining the radical group Jamaah Anshoru Tauhid in Cirebon, West Java, where they were involved in destroying alcohol at a Alfamart convenience store.
The two eventually graduated to suicide bombings – Hayat blew himself up at a Protestant church in Solo on Sunday, while Syarif was responsible for the April bombing at the Ad Dzikra mosque in Cirebon, West Java.
But National Police spokesman Anton Bachrul Alam said on Tuesday that the two friends did not act alone and future attacks might be possible. "The homemade bomb used in Solo is feared to be one of nine. The rest have not been found yet," Anton said.
He added that the bombers' accomplices were still at large. "Hayat was Syarif's friend. He was a member of JAT Cirebon, and in October 2010 he took part in damaging an Alfamart. He ended up on our most-wanted list for the bombing of the Ad Dzikra mosque on April 5. Hayat drove Syarif to the mosque before the attack," Anton said.
Hayat was born Pino Damayanto on Oct. 19, 1980, in Losari, Cirebon. "Hayat's father and mother have identified the body and are certain it is their son," said Anton, adding that fingerprint and DNA evidence had confirmed the identification.
Anton said there were 15 points of similarity between the bomber's fingerprints and the police's analysis of Hayat's drivers license.
He also said that other evidence had been gathered in the case, including two receipts from an Internet cafe in Solo and a green Eiger brand backpack, which the bomber left at the Internet cafe before the bombing for safekeeping. Hayat's bag contained red, yellow and green sarongs, several newspapers, a small Koran, a peci hat, a pen and a dust mask.
Although the bag contained a mobile phone charger, no phone was found either on the bomber or in his bag. Considering that a number of terrorism cases have been cracked by police after tracking messages and locations through mobile phones, it is possible that Hayat avoided leaving traces by not carrying one.
At the crime scene, police collected several pieces of evidence, including a pair of black-framed glasses, a black hat, a nine-volt alkaline battery, electrical tape and grey electrical cabling. A number of nails and bolts were also found, suspected to be part of the bomb and designed to act as shrapnel.
"We have identified the mastermind behind this attack and who his friends were. We know who they are and we're tracking them down," Anton said. "This was a misguided act of jihad."
Mussadeq Ishaq, the head of the National Police medical and health center, said that in addition to fingerprint and DNA comparison, Hayat was also identified by scars from a hernia operation and other distinguishing physical features.
A source close to the National Police's counterterrorism squad, Densus 88, told the Jakarta Globe that Hayat acquired bomb-making skills from Sogir, a protege of terrorist Azahari Husin, believed to be the technical mastermind behind the 2005 Bali bombing.
Azahari, nicknamed "Demolition Man," studied bomb-making in Afghanistan and was killed in a police raid in East Java in 2005.
A JAT spokesperson denied Hayat was associated with the group. However, Andi Mulya, the chairman of the hard-line Movement Against Illegal Sects and Non-Believers (Gapas) in Cirebon, said Hayat was part of the radical group.