'Operations chief' of terrorist group linked to Bali bombings is arrested in Java
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Your support makes all the difference.Indonesian police have arrested a man believed to be the new operations chief of Jamaah Islamiya, the group blamed for attacks in South-east Asia and linked with the al-Qa'ida terrorist network.
Ali Gufron, alias Mukhlas, was detained in central Java on Tuesday night by police investigating the Bali bombing. Intelligence experts believe he recently replaced another Indonesian, Hambali, as operations leader of JI.
Mukhlas was arrested near Solo – the home town of Abu Bakar Bashir, the radical cleric believed to be JI's spiritual leader – with eight other people including his wife. Indonesian police have not linked him directly to the Bali bombing, but he is an elder brother of Amrozi, one of the self-confessed Bali bombers, who has told police that he idolised Mukhlas and was influenced by him to join the violent Islamist struggle.
Erwin Mappaseng, head of the police's criminal investigation department, said police confiscated a pistol and 12 bullets from Mukhlas. Investigators hope the arrest of Mukhlas, one of the region's most wanted men, will shed light on the workings of JI and expose the extent of al-Qa'ida's reach in Indonesia. They also hope he may lead them to other operatives including Hambali.
Fifteen to 20 people were already in custody in connection with the bombs that killed more than 190 people in Kuta Beach in October. The two key suspects have proved extraordinarily co-operative, with Amrozi telling police that he bought the explosives and the van that was left outside the packed Sari Club. Imam Samudra, the alleged ringleader, has also confessed to his role in the attack. Mukhlas is a former religious leader who ran an Islamic school in Malaysia. His arrest is a coup in the campaign against Islamic terrorism's new front in South-east Asia.
He is believed to have taken over from Hambali, who was a central figure in both JI and al-Qa'ida and a suspect in a series of terrorist attacks including the bombing of the Jakarta Stock Exchange. Police believe he went into hiding because he was too well known.
Police would not confirm local media reports of the arrest of an electronics expert, Dulmatin, who allegedly detonated the bombs. Edward Aritonang, the spokesman for the team investigating the Bali blasts, said: "Five people have recently been caught in relation to the Bali bombings."
The other people reportedly arrested with Mukhlas include Hermianto, suspected of arranging accommodation for the bombers in Bali, and Ali Imron, another brother of Amrozi.
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