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| Southeast Asia |
| Homegrown jihadists 'ready to go' |
| 2006-10-01 |
| A NETWORK of homegrown converts to radical Islam has emerged as a major terrorist threat in South-East Asia, teaming up with higher-profile al-Qaeda offshoots Jemaah Islamiah and Abu Sayyaf to plot attacks on Western and local targets. Manila's top anti-terrorism official has told The Australian that the group of former Christians known as Rajah Solaiman is highly educated and well-financed and lacked the profile of traditional Islamist terrorist groups, making it easier to evade detection. His warning came as Indonesian and Australian mourners remembered the 20 people killed in JI's last major terror attacks, at Jimbaran Bay and Kuta in Bali a year ago yesterday. Terrorist experts believe that while JI has suffered some significant setbacks in the past 12 months, its alliance with southern Philippines groups such as Rajah Solaiman mean it is still a potent force. |
| Posted by:tipper |