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| Southeast Asia |
| Malaysian coppers say JI's regrouping |
| 2004-07-24 |
| Remnants of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI) are regrouping and planning more terror attacks in Southeast Asia despite the arrest of their leaders, Malaysia's police intelligence chief said on Friday. As well as JI, the group blamed for the deadly bombings on Indonesia's Bali Island in 2002, other militant groups including the little-known Indonesian Battalion Abu Bakar (BAB) could also cause trouble, said Mohamad Yusof Abdul Rahman. "Although the threat has subsided, there is a small number who want to continue their jihad struggle like Dr Azahari Husin," Yusof told a conference on terrorism, referring to the JI's suspected master bomb maker. "However, a big group of them are preserving their strength while reorganising themselves," he said in a rare speech outlining the work of regional militants. JI, believed to be the Southeast Asian arm of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, is suspected of carrying out the Bali nightclub blasts that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. Police and intelligence officials say JI, which seeks to establish an Islamic state across much of Southeast Asia, has also planned or carried out other attacks in the region. Though JI members have been arrested in the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, Azahari, a Malaysian, is still at large. Yusof, director of the Special Branch at the Royal Malaysian Police, said two Indonesian madrassa or religious schools — one in Solo and the other in Semarang — had sent clerics to teach in other such schools throughout Indonesia. "The authorities view these people as 'sleepers' who will one day wake up and spring into action when the need arises." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |