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| Southeast Asia | |
| Singaporean Terror Suspect Arrested | |
| 2006-04-20 | |
| Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, 20 April (AKI/Jakarta Post) - Police on the eastern Indonesian island of Sumbawa have arrested a man suspected of being a member of a terrorist group led by one of Southeast Asia's most wanted militants. The man, a Singaporean, identified as Abdul Rasyid, alias Hamdan, was arrested on Tuesday on suspicions that he was part of Noordin Muhammad Top's terrorist group. He was reportedly taken to Jakarta following the arrest. Noordin Muhammad Top and his Malaysian compatriot Azahari Husin, who was killed in a police raid last November, were key members of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist group. Some analysts have said that Hamdan and Noordin have split from JI and have formed their own militant organisation.
As well as the two attacks on Bali in 2002, JI is also implicated in a 2003 blast at the Jakarta Marriott hotel and a 2004 bombing at the Australian Embassy and last year's suicide bombings at Bali beach restaurants in October. The West Nusa Tenggara Police spokesman HM Basri confirmed Hamdan's arrest on Wednesday but declined to confirm whether the arrested man was part of the terrorist group, saying the team made the arrest for immigration violations. | |
| Posted by:Steve |