Jemaah Islamiah terror group planned fresh Indonesia attack: Police
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JAKARTA • The extremist group behind the Bali bombings was planning a fresh attack during Indonesia's independence day celebrations this week, the police said yesterday, citing militants arrested in a crackdown that netted dozens of suspects.
Indonesia's counter-terrorism squad rounded up 53 suspected extremists in nearly a dozen provinces across the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation over the past week, the authorities said.
Some suspects admitted that their organisation Jemaah Islamiah (JI) - a terror outfit behind the 2002 Bali bombings - had been planning an attack during the South-east Asian nation's independence day holiday earlier this week, they said.
"JI was planning a terror attack on independence day, according to some suspects," national police spokesman Argo Yuwono told reporters in Jakarta yesterday.
Mr Yuwono did not elaborate on the alleged plot but said that police seized weapons and ammunition from the suspects, who were initially arrested on charges linked to fund-raising for the group.
JI was nearly dismantled by the authorities after bombs ripped through nightclubs on the holiday island nearly two decades ago, killing more than 200 people including scores of tourists in Indonesia's deadliest terror attack.
But the organisation has been rebuilding and its spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir was released from prison this year after serving time on terror-related charges.
"This operation was aimed at dismantling and exhausting JI," said a counter-terror official who asked not to be named.
"They've been growing again by recruiting, raising money and beefing up their logistics and weapons."
The outlawed JI has ties with Al-Qaeda and has been implicated in other attacks over the past two decades.
The Taleban victory could supply renewed vigour for South-east Asian terror groups, analysts said.
53
Number of suspected extremists rounded up by Indonesia's counter-terrorism squad over the past week.
"In the short run, the biggest impact will be psychological and in terms of morale," said US-based security analyst Zachary Abuza.
"It reaffirms local militants' commitment to the cause. If the Taleban can defeat a US-backed apostate puppet regime, then so can they," he added.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE