http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/06/201062315215220293.html
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
19:39 Mecca time, 16:39 GMT
Indonesia holds 'most wanted man'
In the past year, Indonesian police have launched a
nationwide crackdown on fighters [Reuters]
Police in Indonesia have captured a man believed to be one of the most wanted
"terrorists" in the country, officials say.
The man thought to be Abdullah Sonata, an explosives expert, will be
fingerprinted to confirm his identity, officials said.
Police said they became engaged in a gun battle after they launched a raid in
Klaten, a district in central Java, on Wednesday.
One person was shot dead and three were arrested, one of whom is believed to be
Sonata.
"We captured three today, including Abdullah Sonata. One was killed during an
exchange of fire," the source from the police's anti-terrorism unit, Detachment
88, told the Reuters news agency.
The source said Sonata was found in possession of weapons.
Police in Indonesia had put him at the top of their most wanted list.
In the past year, Indonesian police have launched a nationwide crackdown on
fighters, in which they have arrested or killed dozens of prominent fighters.
Linked to Noordin
Sonata was thought to have recently returned from the Philippines and started
recruiting and training fighters.
He is linked to the late Noordin Mohammed Top,the former head of a Jemaah
Islamiyah splinter cell known as "al-Qaeda in the Malay Archipelago",
responsible for major bombings until he was killed last year by police.
In depth
Profile
Who was Noordin Mohammed Top?
Timeline
Indonesia bombings
Focus
Indonesia's war on Jemaah Islamiyah
Video
Indonesia police in shootout
Witness to Jakarta bombing
Jakarta blast caught on tape
Noordin had been accused of involvement in July's twin suicide bombings at the
Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta, the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing
and attacks on the same Marriott hotel in Jakarta in 2003, as well as the
Australian Embassy in 2004.
Sonata was sought for his role in planning a training camp in Aceh region - on
the northwestern tip of Sumatra island to the west of Java - and for recruiting
new members.
Indonesia's Metro TV said police also discovered documents that showed fighters
were planning to attack the Danish embassy in Jakarta, but the police source
declined to confirm the report.
Denmark has been a frequent target in various countries following the
publication in a Danish newspaper in 2005 of caricatures depicting the Prophet
Muhammad.
In May, police said a group had set up a paramilitary training camp in Aceh and
planned to launch a series of attacks.
These included a Mumbai-style hotel siege targeting foreigners and an assault
on the president and foreign guests at an independence day ceremony in August.
Sonata had previously been arrested in 2004 for concealing information about
Noordin, blamed for a string of bomb attacks against Western symbols over the
past 10 years.
He was released in March 2009.
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