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| Southeast Asia |
| Mukhlas in custody... |
| 2002-12-04 |
| Indonesian police said Wednesday they had arrested the operations chief of Jemaah Islamiyah. Investigators hope the arrest of Mukhlas, also known as Ali Gufron, will shed light on the shadowy group and expose the extent of al-Qaida's reach in the world's most populous Muslim nation. "Ali Gufron, or Mukhlas, is an important figure in the group (Jemaah Islamiyah)," Police detective Brig. Gen. Aryanto Sutadi said. "We have been looking for him for a long time." Mukhlas is the brother of Amrozi, who was arrested last month in connection with the Bali bombings. Amrozi confessed to owning the car used in the attack and buying materials for the bombs. Police arrested Mukhlas and eight others suspects late Tuesday in a series of raids in central Java, said national police chief Gen. Erwin Mapaseng. Sutadi said one of those detained, identified only as Hermianto, was believed to have arranged accommodations for the bombers in Bali. Citing intelligence reports, Indonesian police said last week Mukhlas was believed to have replaced Riduan Isamuddin, also known as Hambali, as operations chief of Jemaah Islamiyah. They said Hambali was becoming too well known and had been forced into hiding. Hambali, an Indonesian citizen, has been described as al-Qaida's point man in Southeast Asia. It will be interesting to hear Mukhlas' tune when he starts singing, assuming he does. It sure would be nice to catch Hambali, too. That could wrap up the whole of Jemaah... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |