E-MAIL THIS LINK
To: 

Still dangerous and elusive
See wanted poster with pics at link.
By SHEFALI REKHI

JEMAAH Islamiah’s top bomb-maker Dr Azahari Husin may be dead but the group’s mastermind Noordin Mohd Top is still at large and experts say he and other leaders in the terror network remain poised to strike.

Members of the special suicide squad set up by the group could also seek revenge.

Besides bomb-making material found at the house in Batu - where Azahari blew himself up on Wednesday - suggests preparations were underway for fresh attacks.

“Azahari’s death no doubt is a very significant success for the Indonesian police,” said Indonesian expert Sidney Jones.

“But it's also reason to move fast. Azahari, together with Noordin, had set up a special armed cell - the Thoifah Muqatilah or Combat Unit, to train and prepare a fresh batch of Muslim extremists.

“We don’t know who were the members of this unit, we don’t know where they are, but we can expect some killings by those linked to the group to prove a point, to retaliate,” she said in an interview.

Police have some leads on Noordin, Jones said.

One of those arrested in Semarang this week is close to Noordin and could lead the local authorities to the mastermind.

Local reports said three JI supporters - being used as couriers by Azahari and Noordin - were picked up in Semarang, one of whom gave away Azahari’s hideout.

“Noordin must be found, he’s the more dangerous one, Azahari is the techician,” she said.

Other JI leaders also pose a threat.

Among them were Afghan veterans Zulkarnaen, Dulmatin, Umar Patek and Abu Dujana.

Zulkarnaen headed JI’s military wing and set up Laskar Khos - a dedicated suicide squad.

He’s known to have close links to the Al-Qaeda and was sent to Philippines to train Muslim extremists but his whereabouts are not known.

Malaysian nationals Dulmatin - who is a trained explosives expert - and Umar Patek were involved in the first Bali attacks and may also be hiding in the Philippines.

Abu Dujana is believed to a member of JI’s central command, who has participated in planning meetings called by Noordin and Azahari.

The escape of Al Qaeda militant Omar Al Faruq from a prison in Afghanistan in July too adds a new dimension to the security threat.

Faruq was Al Qaeda’s top pointman for Southeast Asia.

Alarmed at some of the revelations he made after his arrest in 2002, Washington declared an orange alert - the highest level - across the country.

Some other governments did much the same.

Faruq had disclosed that he had been directed by the top leadership of Al-Qaeda to plan large-scale attacks against US interests in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore.

It is time now for Indonesia to take a long-term perspective on the issue, experts believe.

It should take measures to prevent groups from finding new recruits - at least 18 JI linked pesantrens or boarding schools continue to operate in Indonesia - and cripple the funding sources for the group.

“A large amount of funds came sometime in December from unknown sources in either the Middle-east or South Asia,” said author Ken Conboy, whose book The Second Front: Inside Asia’s Most Dangerous Terrorist Network has just been released.

“It was something like US$20,000. That’s a lot and more than enough to finance a few more bombings.” – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
Posted by: anonymous5089 2005-11-12
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=134843