The Jakarta Post, 8/4/2004 1:19:34 PM
Police break up Muslim militant suicide squad
JAKARTA (AP): Six Muslim militants arrested last month in Indonesia were members
of a suicide squad that was awaiting attack orders from leaders of the Jamaah
Islamiyah (JI) terror group, a top security official told the Associated Press on
Wednesday.
Police recovered letters in a house rented by the men in which they told their families
they intended to blow themselves in attacks on unspecified targets, said Ansyaad
Mbai, the top anti-terror official at the security ministry.
"They were awaiting orders from their bosses, Azahari bin Husin and Noordin
Mohammed Top," Mbai said, referring to two alleged leaders of the al-Qaida-linked JI
who remain free. "This shows that terrorism remains a threat in Indonesia."
The six suspects were arrested June 30 in a house in Sukoharjo on Indonesia's main
island of Java, some 400 kilometers east of Jakarta. They are being held on Bali
island.
Police have said the men also played a role in the Oct. 12, 2002, Bali bombings and
the Aug. 5, 2003, attack on the J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta. Both attacks were
blamed on JI. (*)
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