The Jakarta Post, 1/30/2006 2:17:10 PM
Noordin claims to be leader of new terror group
JAKARTA (AP): A Malaysian wanted for his alleged role in terror attacks in Indonesia
is now claiming to head a new Southeast Asian Islamic militant organization,
Indonesia's police chief said Monday.
The suspect, Noordin M. Top, is widely considered a key leader in Jemaah Islamiyah,
a militant network believed to be fighting for an Islamic state stretching across much
of Southeast Asia. Its roots go back to the 1980s.
But analysts have speculated that Noordin and his followers have been operating
outside Jemaah Islamiyah's command structure in recent years, due to a rift within
the network over attacks that kill innocent Muslims.
Indonesia's police chief, Gen. Sutanto, told lawmakers Monday that Noordin was
claiming to be the head of the "Tanzim Qaedat-al Jihad" or "Organization for the Basis
of Jihad" for Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines.
Sutanto, who uses only one name, said the claim came in a message from Noordin in
which he claimed responsibility for last year's restaurant bombings on Indonesia's Bali
island.
Noordin is accused of a leading role in the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202
people - mostly foreign tourists - and in 2003-04 attacks that left more than 20 dead in
the capital, Jakarta. (**)
All contents copyright © of The Jakarta Post.
|
