Paras Indonesia, 05, 24 2006 @ 09:44 pm
Noordin's Support Structure Needs Dismantling
Posted by: Roy Tupai
Police are closing in on Indonesia's most wanted terrorist, Noordin Mohamed Top, but
even if he is arrested, his support structure must still be dismantled, according to a
new report by the International Crisis Group (ICG).
Terrorism in Indonesia: Noordin's Networks, released by the Brussels-based ICG
earlier this month, says the Malaysian fugitive has gradually expanded beyond an
inner circle of members of regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) to build a
diehard following committed to al Qaeda style attacks, even though many in JI
disapproved. The report warns that some extremist networks used by Noordin may
also be used by other militant leaders.
The report explains how Noordin (38) used his personal contacts to organize annual
suicide bombings: at Jakarta's JW Marriott Hotel in August 2003, outside the
Australian Embassy in Jakarta in September 2004, and at Bali restaurants in October
2005. The attacks killed a total of 46 people, mostly Indonesians.
Police on April 29 raided a terrorist hideout in Wonosobo, Central Java province, killing
two militants and arresting two others, but Noordin narrowly avoided capture, as he
has done on several occasions in the past.
The ICG said JI is still the core of Noordin's following: the two killed in the Wonosobo
raid were longstanding JI members, as was at least one of those arrested.
But since early 2004, Noordin has apparently regarded himself as the leader of JI's
military wing and reached out to young men from other organizations and some with
no previous organizational affiliation.
"Noordin may think of himself as JI, but since the 2003 Marriott bombing, he has been
running his own show that is seen as a deviant splinter by many in the JI
mainstream," said ICG Southeast Asia project director Sidney Jones.
Noordin's group in 2005 began calling itself ‘thoifah muqotilah' (fighting force) and he
claimed to head the working group for the Malay archipelago of ‘Tanzim Qoidatul
Jihad', the formal name of al Qaeda.
"The extent of his actual communication with al Qaeda is not clear but he certainly
seems to have been infatuated with it, aping not only its name but also its materials
and tactics," said the report.
Noordin also assumed the pseudonym of ‘Ayman' by mid-2004, reportedly taking the
name from al Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
The ICG said Noordin's appearance on a videotape found in November 2005, complete
with a balaclava covering his face, "seemed to be an effort to replicate the videos
made by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the prominent insurgent in Iraq".
Part of the now defunct terrorist website www.anshar.net, developed under Noordin's
guidance between July and September 2005, was devoted to articles translated into
Indonesian from Sawt al-Jihad (Voice of Jihad), al Qaeda's online magazine.
Changing Networks
Noordin's networks have changed over time, reflecting his increasing distance from JI,
the ICG report said. For the Marriott bombing, the major operatives were
Sumatra-based JI members. Other targets considered in addition to the hotel were a
Citibank branch, Jakarta International School and the Australian International School.
The Marriott was eventually chosen because of its American brand name and its
accessibility.
For the Australian Embassy bombing, Noordin used the JI network in East Java, JI
schools in Central Java and a Darul Islam group in West Java that had worked with JI
in the past. For the Bali 2005 bombings, full details are yet to be ascertained, but it
seems the bombers were again recruited through contacts in JI and Darul Islam. More
information is expected to emerge at the ongoing trials of four men charged over the
restaurant bombings.
After the embassy attack, said the ICG, Noordin became increasingly reliant on
networks that included but went far beyond JI, taking in non-JI veterans of the
communal conflicts in Ambon (Maluku) and Poso (Central Sulawesi). He tried, mostly
unsuccessfully, to tap into networks of other organizations, including the old
insurgency Darul Islam and the Islamic charity KOMPAK. Both would have given him
access to additional funds and fighters, with experience in Ambon and Poso, as well
as Mindanao in the southern Philippines.
The report said Noordin clearly aspires to head a tightly organized military machine
with cells across South East Asia, designed to mount terror attacks on the US and
its allies, kafirs, anti-Islamic governments including Indonesia, and other enemies of
Islam.
"By early 2006 he was trying to turn his ad hoc band into a more structured armed
force that could operate beyond Java and, at least in his dreams, beyond Indonesia,"
it said.
"He is a long way from that now. That said: All this notwithstanding, the troubling
thing is that there seems to be no shortage of new recruits, and recruiters… appear to
have had little difficulty tapping into their personal networks to find new people as
needed."
Major Blow
The ICG said the Wonosobo raid was "a significant blow" to Noordin as he lost the
men who served as both couriers and recruiters. The two men killed in the raid,
Baharudin Soleh alias Abdul Hadi and Gempur Budi Angkoro alias Jabir, were also
regarded as Noordin's trusted confidantes. Noordin had given Abdul Hadi the task of
"ripening" the suicide bomber for the Australian Embassy bombing and he may have
had the same job before the 2005 Bali bombings. Jabir, a cousin of Fathurrahman
al-Ghozi, killed in the Philippines in 2003, had been in effect Noordin's chief of staff.
The report described the raid as a "triumph for the police" and said Noordin's arrest
will be an even greater one. "But the networks he drew on will survive as a potential
source of recruits for future operations," it warned.
"Noordin has shown remarkable determination and capacity to plan operations even
as he loses his closest colleagues to police dragnets and remains the target of
Indonesia's biggest ever manhunt. But the loss of these two men has to be a huge
blow," said Jones.
The report concludes by stating that strengthening networks in Malaysia, the
Philippines, and perhaps Thailand are going to be more important for Noordin, as a
Malaysian, than they would be for an Indonesian; that he has reiterated the old
Mantiqi I [JI's regional group covering Malaysia and Singapore] goal of an archipelagic
South East Asian operation should not be a surprise. "If he can ever again think
beyond his own survival, this may mean more efforts to communicate with Malaysian
JI members in the Philippines, reach out to the DI members in Sabah, and reactivate
old links in Thailand. Noordin's ambitions are too big to stay focused on Indonesia but
the Indonesian police are likely to get to him first."
The 38-page report can be viewed at the ICG site in pdf format and MS-Word format.
No Strong Criticism
Given that Indonesian authorities have expelled Sidney Jones from the country twice
since 2004 on the spurious grounds that she poses a danger to the state, the latest
ICG report on Indonesia did not fault security authorities for the fact that Noordin has
not been captured.
The closest the report comes to criticism is mentioning that weaknesses in the prison
system enabled Noordin to retain strong ties to his jailed idol, Ali Ghufron alias
Mukhlas, one of the main organizers of the October 2002 Bali bombings that killed
202 people.
"Mukhlas, while on death row in Bali, continued to give his protégé materials for
religious discussion groups, thanks to the lax controls on communications within
Indonesian prisons. If Noordin is not convincing as a religious scholar, Mukhlas is,
and through a variety of media, printed and electronic, his teachings can be - and
almost certainly were - used for recruitment and indoctrination," said the report.
One Suspect Apologizes, One Claims Torture
Trials of four suspects in the Bali II bombers have started this month at Denpasar
District Court.
Abdul Aziz (30) on Tuesday expressed regret over his role in the attacks. "I'm really
sorry. I want to apologize especially to the Balinese people," he was quoted as
saying by AP.
He is accused of harboring Noordin and of setting up www.anshar.net, which called for
a jihad against infidels and gave instructions on how to kill foreigners in Jakarta.
Aziz's trial will resume on May 30 to hear witness testimony.
The other defendants are Mohammad Cholily, Dwi Widianto and Anif Solchanudin. All
could face the death penalty if convicted.
Cholily on May 16 accused police of torturing him for a week to extract a confession.
He had initially confessed to involvement in the bombings, but later recanted his
statement in a letter read to the court by his lawyer. Nevertheless, he admitted that
Noordin's associate Azahari Husin, who was shot dead in a raid in East Java last
November, had taught him how to make bombs. He has reportedly not denied charges
that he helped to assemble bombs used in the Bali attacks.
In the letter read out by his lawyer, Cholily claimed he was slapped in the face,
punched in the stomach, kicked in the genitals, stripped naked and had a gun put in
his mouth. The lawyer said his client was forced to confess to charges of glorifying
terrorism and transporting explosives for the bombings.
The defendant said he was ready to die as a martyr. "What is wrong with people
learning how to make bombs?" I want to meet death. Everybody will die eventually.
Why can't I choose how to die?" he was quoted as saying by AP.
He lamented that his interrogation had led police to Azahari. "I feel guilty, because my
words caused the death of a man. Bombs are hard to make, the most important thing
is that I learned the essence of life from Azahari."
Police have denied torturing Cholily or any other terror suspects.
National Police chief General Sutanto on Tuesday said countries in the region were
cooperating to apprehend Noordin. He said the fugitive's ability to stage another
bombing has decreased, while his number of his followers has also declined
significantly.
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