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| Southeast Asia | |||
| Bomb suspect was al-Qaeda member: Indonesia | |||
| 2009-08-28 | |||
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Indonesian police Thursday were pursuing an al-Qaeda connection to the twin suicide attacks on Jakarta hotels, after confirming that a suspect in custody had been a follower of Osama bin Laden. National Police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri said the suspect, Indonesian publisher and Islamist blogger Mohammed Jibril Abdurahman -- known on the Internet as the "Prince of Jihad" -- was once a member of al-Qaeda. Mohammed Jibril was arrested outside Jakarta late Tuesday on suspicion of channeling money from abroad to finance the July 17 attacks on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels, which killed nine people including the two bombers.
Asked by reporters whether Mohammed Jibril had been a member of al-Qaeda, Danuri said "yes." "Let the process proceed, there will be more developments," he said, without elaborating. Most wanted extremist Noor Eddin, 41, is the most wanted extremist in Indonesia and calls his group "al-Qaeda in the Malay Archipelago." He allegedly received al-Qaeda backing for an attack on the Marriott in 2003 which killed 12 people, and is also accused of masterminding attacks on the Australian embassy in 2004 and tourist restaurants in Bali in 2005. Police say they have killed three cell members and arrested five since July 17 who allegedly smuggled money from abroad to pay for the operation. The source of the funds is not known, but police said they are investigating whether the money came from al-Qaeda brokers in the Middle East or South Asia, among other possible donors.
Al-Ghuraba was set up in 1999 by Hambali, the Indonesian alleged point-man for al-Qaeda in Southeast Asia who is in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay, analysts said. It trained Southeast Asian members of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) regional terror network blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, and served as a conduit between JI and al-Qaeda. Al-Ghuraba
Hambali's younger brother and al-Ghuraba alumni Gun Rusman Gunawan was sentenced to four years' jail in Indonesia in 2004 for helping to finance the 2003 Marriott attack. He served only two years and is now free. A spokesman for Mohammed Jibril's family, Irfan S. Awwas, rejected accusations the publisher had any role in the hotel attacks. "Do you think al-Ghuraba is a terrorist movement?" he asked reporters as he appeared with the suspect's father, radical cleric Abu Jibril, at the national police headquarters to demand Mohammed Jibril's release. "As a student there (in Pakistan), anyone can join any organization such as al-Ghuraba -- it's not forbidden." Mohammed Jibril's publishing company, Ar-Rahmah, has sold al-Qaeda propaganda videos in Indonesia and last year launched Jihadmagz magazine, which glorifies global terror attacks. His father was arrested in Malaysia in 2001 on suspicion of being a JI member. He was deported to Indonesia in 2003 but served only about five months in jail for using a forged passport. He now runs a website, which also supports radical Islamist groups and spouts jihadist ideology. | |||
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Al-Ghuraba was set up in 1999 by Hambali, the Indonesian alleged point-man for al-Qaeda in Southeast Asia who is in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay, analysts said. Does this make Hambali one of the people Obama wants to bring to the US (and maybe put on welfare)? |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2009-08-28 11:37 |
| #1 ION INDONESIA, WAFF > MALAYSIA: 100,000 WORKERS BY NEXT YEAR [2010]!? Massive influx of foreign labor into Malaysia from Pakistan + Indonesia + Bangladesh; + NEXT 100 YEARS: THE RISE OF JAPAN AND TURKEY!?. You just know the PHILIPPINES and its various Militant trubles are in there somewhere. * PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUMS > SIKH, ISLAMIST OUTFITS PLANNING JOINT STRIKES [agz INDIA]??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-08-28 02:17 |