The Jakarta Post, January 25, 2006
Police patience paying off in terror hunt
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
While police have arrested dozens of people for their roles in the bomb attacks in Bali
and Jakarta during the past three years, one key terrorist leader, Noordin M. Top, is
still evading them.
In just under four months, police have declared 10 suspects in connection with last
year's Oct. 1 bomb attacks in Bali. Each of these men was also believed to be
connected with Noordin. Four more people were arrested last week and are still being
questioned.
"The investigation requires a lot of time and energy. That's why it has taken so long to
capture (suspects)," National Police spokesmen Brig. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said
Tuesday.
Investigations into the latest attack resulted in the initial arrests of five men in
Semarang, Central Java, a few days ago. They were identified as Harry, Tarjo, Prapto,
Catur and Ibnu (not Ibtu as reported earlier by The Jakarta Post). Police later released
Ibnu on Tuesday because they lacked evidence to charge him. The remaining four are
still being questioned.
Four more suspects were arrested in the city in November, a month after the blasts.
They were Mohammad Cholili, Anif Sulhanudin, Abdul Aziz and Dwi Widianto. All
have been formally declared suspects in the attacks.
Police investigations indicated that Cholili and Anif assembled the bombs used in the
attacks and had hidden Noordin and other key terror suspect Azahari bin Husin, who
was later killed in a raid in Malang, East Java.
Abdul allegedly set up a terrorist website that published militant ideas and messages,
while Dwi was believed to have helped hide Noordin and edited a terrorist VCD.
It took almost three months of investigations before the police could determine group
members' individual roles.
"We are still trying to find out where he (Noordin) is now. We hope that the recent
arrests of his followers will help the investigators locate him," Anton said.
This month, the police declared six more suspects, bringing the total to 10. They were
identified as Joko Suroso, Ardi Wibowo, Aditya Triyoga, Puji Sriyono, Abu Sayaf, and
Subur Sugiarto.
The six were arrested in Semarang, Boyolali and Karang Anyar -- all Central Java
locations where police believed Noordin had stayed while planning the bombings and
recruiting followers. (09)
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