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Indonesia says arrests point to success of anti-terror drive
Indonesia's foreign minister said yesterday recent detentions of Islamist militants suspected of plotting to attack Western targets have weakened but not crippled terrorist movements in the country.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:02 July 7, 2008
Kuala Lumpur: Indonesia's foreign minister said yesterday recent detentions of Islamist militants suspected of plotting to attack Western targets have weakened but not crippled terrorist movements in the country.
Ten suspects, including a Singaporean, were detained and a large cache of bombs seized in recent raids in Palembang, 425 km northwest of Jakarta, and other areas in South Sumatra.
The group had initially been plotting to attack a cafe popular with tourists in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, a police source said, but had switched to Western targets in Jakarta.
Speaking in the Malaysian capital, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said Indonesia's anti-terrorism drive had yielded some success. "We are not sure whether we have crippled (them), but the fact that they are on the run, and the fact that we have uncovered various terrorist cells in the past three years means that they are within our reach," he said.
"And that's why we feel more secure," he told reporters at the sidelines of a meeting of eight developing Islamic nations.
The 10 suspects have been linked to key figures involved in the regional militant network, Jemaah Islamiah (JI), including Noordin Mohammad Top, a fugitive Malaysian wanted for a string of attacks in Indonesia, and bomb-maker Azahari Husin, another Malaysian killed in a shootout with police in East Java in 2005.
Security expert Rohan Gunaratna identified the Singaporean as Mohammad Hassan, who met Osama Bin Laden while on training in Afghanistan.
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