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| Southeast Asia |
| Abuza sez Indonesia had intel about Bali boomers' MO |
| 2005-10-14 |
| Indonesian police had evidence suggesting militants might resort to smaller suicide attacks rather than powerful truck bombs before the deadly Bali bombings on October 1, a US terrorism expert claims. Jemaah Islamiah, believed to be the al Qaeda network's main ally in south-east Asia, has been blamed for the attacks on three packed restaurants on the Indonesian resort island, which killed three bombers and 20 other people, and wounded more than 100. In an anti-terror operation in June and July, Indonesian police arrested 17 suspected militants and found, in rebel safe houses, bomb materials similar to those used in the October 1 attacks – including TNT powder, detonating cords and ball bearings, said Zachary Abuza, a terrorism expert and senior fellow of the US Institute of Peace said, adding: "There were plenty of clues as early as June and July to suggest that JI was going to shift to smaller suicide bombers, rather than truck bombs." Abuza said Indonesian authorities believed militants would not hit Bali a second time, or other tourism hubs, but would focus on targeting "other pillars of the Indonesian economy", citing a report which believed the next target would be a Western mining concern. While Indonesian police have not said the October 1 suicide bombers trained in the southern Philippines, Abuza has raised concerns over reports of terror training in the southern region of Mindanao. A terror cell suspected in the latest Bali attacks had sent members to the southern Philippines for training, he said. "The weak link in the war on terror in south-east Asia continues to be the Philippines," Abuza added. Philippine officials have rejected such criticism, saying crackdowns had led to the arrests of several Jemaah Islamiah members, prevented attacks, disrupted terror training and kept a small group of Indonesian militants on the run in Mindanao. A confidential report by the Philippines' National Security Council in August, said Jemaah Islamiah training courses, which started in mid-1998, had been disrupted by military offensives. However, it went on to say they could be resumed because of the presence of about 25 members of the group in the southern Philippines. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |