Associated Press / MICHAEL CASEY /8-4-04
Six Muslim militants arrested last month in Indonesia were members of a suicide squad that was awaiting attack orders from leaders of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group, a top security official told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Police recovered letters in a house rented by the men in which they told their families they intended to blow themselves in attacks on unspecified targets, said Ansyaad Mbai, the top anti-terror official at the security ministry.
"They were awaiting orders from their bosses, Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohammed Top," Mbai said, referring to two wanted Malaysians who police say are leaders of the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah terror group. "This shows that terrorism remains a threat in Indonesia."
| I don't think anybody doubted that, except maybe for Hamzah Haz... |
The six suspects were arrested on June 30th in a house in Sukoharjo on Indonesia's main island of Java, some 400 kilometers (240 miles) east of Jakarta. They are being held on Bali island and are cooperating with police.
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Police have said the men also played a role in the Oct. 12, 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, and the Aug. 5th, 2003 attack on the J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta that killed 12. Both attacks were blamed on Jemaah Islamiyah and involved suicide bombers. They were the first recorded instances of suicide tactics being used by militants in the world's most populous Muslim nation. Police have arrested scores of alleged Jemaah Islamiyah militants in recent years in Indonesia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, including at least 40 over the Bali and Jakarta attacks. Azahari and Noordin have been the subject of a manhunt for the past year. Police said the pair narrowly escaped capture in November when officers raided a house they were renting in Bandung in west Java. Authorities have warned the two are armed with explosives and could be planning fresh attacks ahead of the final round of Indonesia's presidential elections on Sept. 20th. |