BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific October 25, 2008
Indonesian Police Link Five Arrested Terror Suspects to Azahari's Network The police suspected that the five terrorist suspects arrested, following the discovery of explosive materials in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, were part of Dr Azahari terrorist network, based on their bomb-making pattern. The arrest of Rusli Wardani, alias Wahyu, in his rented house in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, on the night of Monday was followed by the arrest of several other terrorist suspects in various locations. The five suspects who were arrested by the Detachment 88, Indonesian counterterrorism squad, are being held for investigation at the Indonesian Police headquarters. Brigade General Sulistiyo Ishak, deputy chief of the Indonesian Police Public Relation unit, stated that all the suspects were part of Azahari network based on the same bomb-making method using electronic devices. He further said: "From the evidences found in Pelumpang, Palembang, Wonosobo, Jogja, Solo, and others indicated that this group is a part of Azahari network" The police are also investigating whether the five suspects are related to other terrorist networking groups. During the raid on Wahyu's rented house at Rawasengon 7, Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, the police confiscated 2.6 Kg of TNT [trinitro-toluene] powder, aluminium sulfate, series of switches, and a circuit board. The discovery of TNT powder is similar as the one discovered by the police in Jogjakarta. During the Jogjakarta raid, the police confiscated 550 gram of TNT, a bucket of liquid, and a detonator cover. The police also confiscated detonator from suspected terrorists in Palembang along with several electric bombs and black powder. During a raid on Azahari's house in Malang, the police found several detonator covers in plastic wrap. The five suspects arrested two days ago also collaborated with several other groups. Those terrorist groups are the Jundullah group in Sulawesi, Al-Jama'ah Al-Islamiyah in Ambon, Poso, and Java, Kayamaya group in Poso, Ambon, and Jakarta. One of the terrorist suspects Rusli Mardani, alias Wahyu, is a member of Kompak group in Poso. The other groups that collaborated with the Pelumpang group are Pakta group in Palembang, Indonesian Islamic State group in Jakarta, and Al-Jama'ah Al-Islamiyah in Singapore represented by Hasan, alias Fajar Taslim. Hasan was a graduate of Al-Qa'idah camp in Afghanistan. Source: Metro TV, Jakarta, in Indonesian 2300 gmt 23 Oct 08 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
