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Bangkok Post


Bangkok Post, Friday October 06, 2006

JI terrorist's wife held in Philippines

Zamboanga City, Philippines (dpa) - Philippine security forces have detained an Indonesian woman believed to be the wife of a top Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant hiding in the country's southern region, officials said Thursday.

The woman - identified as Estidia Pitono, also known as Oemar or Amenah - is reportedly the wife of Dulmatin, who is wanted for various terrorist attacks, including the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people.

She was captured on Wednesday in Patikul town on Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila, where more than 5,000 troops have been hunting her husband and another JI militant, Omar Patek, since August.

According to security officials, who requested anonymity, Pitono was arrested with her two children, aged six and eight.

They were taken to military headquarters in Zamboanga City, where Pitono was being interrogated, the officials added.

While authorities have not directly linked Dulmatin's wife to terrorist activities, the officials said it was hoped that her interrogation would provide important information that could help locate her husband.

They added that Pitono could be charged for violations of immigration laws because she has no travel documents.

The United States has offered a reward of up to 10 million dollars for the capture of Dulmatin and up to 1 million dollars for Patek.

Dulmatin, an electronics specialist with training in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, is a senior figure in the JI terrorist organisation. He is believed to have masterminded the Bali bomb attacks in October 2002.

Patek is suspected to have served as the assistant for field coordinations of the 2002 bombings in Bali.

Security experts have warned that JI has been training new recruits in the southern region of Mindanao in close cooperation with the local Abu Sayyaf group. Both groups have been linked to the al-Qaeda international network.

© Copyright The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. 2006
 


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