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| Southeast Asia |
| JI ruled by a new triumvirate of bloodthirsty holy men |
| 2006-06-13 |
| The al-Qaeda-linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah is largely controlled by three Indonesian hard-liners who see terrorism as the best way to impose Islamic law across Southeast Asia, the country's intelligence chief said Monday. Zulkarnaen, the alleged commander of Jemaah Islamiyah's militant wing, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, is working closely with explosives experts Abu Dujana and Zuhroni, said Syamsir Siregar, head of Indonesia's State Intelligence Agency. "They see terrorism as the best way to achieve their goal," Siregar said at a parliamentary hearing, adding that Malaysian terrorist Noordin Top, believed to have orchestrated a series of bombings in Indonesia, takes orders from the others. That would likely be al-Qaeda high command, given the claims about who's financing Top's attacks. My guess is that they viewed Top and Azahari as expendable pawns that could do their dirty work in Indonesia while diverting attention from both the Mindanao training and the rebuilt JI leadership. Note that Zulkarnaean was one of Hambali's lieutenants, so he's probably assumed his boss's old job. Wasn't there a story out awhile back that Mukhlas was still running ops from prison? Jemaah Islamiyah is blamed for a series of bloody bombings and failed terror plots in Southeast Asia in recent years, including two strikes on Indonesia's resort island of Bali that killed more than 220 people, most of them foreign tourists. Police said earlier this year that Dujana had taken over as the head of Jemaah Islamiyah, though terror experts have yet to determine his exact role within the group, saying it may be as an inspirational leader. The exact role of Zuhroni, also known as Oni, was not immediately clear Monday. Siregar said there are at least three factions within Jemaah Islamiyah, and that only Zulkarnaen's group sees terrorism as the primary instrument in winning the imposition of Islamic law across the region. Others believe it should be a long-term military or spiritual struggle, he said. Except that a long-term military struggle doesn't look much different from a terror campaign to the people on the receiving end when it comes to JI. We've basically seen that in both Somalia and Waziristan and it ain't a pretty picture. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 When Camels = Water Buffaloes/Carabaos attack. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-06-13 01:18 |