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Top's relatives are suspects
[Straits Times] INDONESIAN police said the brother and father-in-law of Noordin Mohammad Top, one of Asia's most wanted men before he was killed in a raid in September, were being held on suspicion of hiding the late militant.

Top's father-in-law Bahrudin Latif and his son, who were captured last week in West Java, were suspected of possessing material used for homemade bombs.
Ito Sumardi, chief of police detectives, told reporters on Tuesday that Bahrudin Latif, also known as Baridin, and his son, who were captured last week in West Java, were also suspected of possessing explosive material used for homemade bombs.

Malaysian-born Top set up a violent splinter group of regional militant network Jemaah Islamiah, which was responsible for a series of attacks in Indonesia including the bombing of two luxury hotel bombings in Jakarta in July.

Mr Sumardi said police were investigating the network linked to Baridin, who was being held in Jakarta. Police have previously accused Top's father-in-law, who was a veteran of the Afghanistan conflict, of being a key figure in Al-Qaeda in Southeast Asia.

The militant has been on the run since fleeing just before a raid earlier this year in which police found a cache of explosive material in the back garden of his home in Cilacap, Central Java. Baridin's daughter married Top in 2006 and the couple had two children, according to the International Crisis Group.

Tito Karnavian, the head of Indonesia's anti-terrorism unit Detachment 88, said last week that despite set backs militant cells in Indonesia were still actively recruiting new members and planning attacks, the Jakarta Post reported.

Posted by: Fred 2009-12-30
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=286717