The Jakarta Post, February 12, 2006
'Pesantren' teacher arrested in Poso
Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Palu/Jakarta
Police announced Saturday they had arrested a teacher -- believed to have close ties
to fugitive terror suspect Noordin M. Top -- from Al-Amanah Islamic boarding school in
Poso, Central Sulawesi.
Sahl Alamri, 35, who is also a kerosene distributor, was arrested Thursday by
Detachment 88, a police antiterror squad, on his way to Poso to deliver kerosene to a
customer.
"The teacher from Al-Amanah pesantren was nabbed for his alleged connection with
Noordin," Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Oegroseno said.
The school, established on May 4, 2001, is known among local people for its
exclusiveness. It is also believed to have hired alumni from Al-Mukmin pesantren in
Ngruki, Central Java, which was co-founded by convicted terrorist Abu Bakar Ba'asyir.
Sahl was transferred Friday to the National Police headquarters in Jakarta for further
questioning.
However, National Police spokesmen Brig. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam declined to give
any more details about what links existed between Sahl and Noordin.
"We cannot expose this now because it would ruin the police investigation. After all,
we have to wait for seven days to prove the accusations against the man," Anton told
The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
By law, the antiterror procedures require seven days of investigation before someone
can be declared a suspect.
However, Anton claimed that the police were closing in on Noordin.
Recently, Central Java Police officers arrested eight men with alleged connections to
Noordin. They were accused of assisting the country's most wanted terror suspect in
planning and carrying out the Oct. 1, 2005 attacks on Bali, which killed 23 people
including three suicide bombers.
Police have collected evidence and testimony from them in relation to Noordin's
whereabouts.
According to documents obtained by police, Noordin has positioned himself as the
new terror group's leader for the Malay region, covering Indonesia, Brunei, the
Philippines and parts of other Asian countries. The group is believed to be targeting
Java for its next bomb attack.
Noordin is thought to have recruited new followers to his group. (09)
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