The Jakarta Post, April 04, 2007
Police point to JI link in arrests
Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
Police said Tuesday they found documents confirming several people arrested
recently in Yogyakarta, Central Java and East Java were linked to the Indonesian
leadership of regional terror group Jamaah Islamiyah.
The documents, which reportedly reveal the structure of JI, "are only given to certain
members of the organization", said the police's anti-terror chief, Brig. Gen. Surya
Dharma.
"So this shows Jamaah Islamiyah really exists in Indonesia, it's not the police making
it up," Surya Dharma said.
Six of eight suspects arrested last month were flown to Jakarta on Tuesday. Two
others are being treated for gunshot wounds sustained during their arrests.
Police said the discovered documents indicated a change in the JI structure from what
was previously known by intelligence officials.
They said they believed handwriting found on the documents belonged to Abu Dujana,
one of the suspected leaders of JI.
"We are sure a board (of JI) exists but we don't know who sits on it," Surya Dharma
said.
The photocopied documents were found during raids last month in which one
suspected militant was shot dead and seven others arrested. Officers also uncovered
caches of weapons, ammunition and explosive materials.
JI is blamed for terrorist attacks in Bali in 2002 and 2005, a bombing at the JW
Marriott Hotel in Jakarta in 2003 and a 2004 attack targeting the Australian Embassy
in Jakarta.
"We thank God we were able to make the arrests before the bombs went off," Surya
Dharma said.
A statement released Tuesday by Australian and Indonesian police in Canberra said
the raids had smashed a suspected terrorist cell and that one of the suspects was
linked to the embassy attack, according to the AFP.
Police said interrogations had revealed that the targets of the suspects included
Central Java prosecutor M. Ismail, the rector of Christian Satya Wacana University in
Salatiga, Kris Herawan Timotius, and its campus.
The suspects flown from Yogyakarta on Tuesday were Sarwo Edi Nugroho, alias Said,
alias Suparman, 40; Sikas Alias Karim, alias Abi Salma, 37; Amir Ahmadi, alias
Ahmad, alias Abu Jundi, alias Ghozu, 34; and Mahfudz Qomari, alias Sutarjo, alias
Ayyasi, alias Abi Isa, 34.
Also flown to Jakarta were Ahmad Syahrul Uman, alias Doni, alias Faisol, alias Irul,
24; and Maulana Yusuf, alias Kholis, 38.
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