Home » National » Breaking News » Article Indonesia terror threat 'remains real'
April 22, 2006 - 2:49PM The threat of terrorist attack in Indonesia remains very real, a United States private sector thinktank says. The Australian government issued a fresh terror alert on Thursday, saying militants could be planning an attack against western targets in Indonesian for the same day. But private sector intelligence group Stratfor said on Friday that, although Thursday had passed, the terror threat had not. In an analysis of the alert, released on Saturday, the group said such warnings specifying a particular date were unusual. "In this case, then, either Australia believed it had credible intelligence on an imminent attack or intelligence services simply lost sight of a suspect they believed was in the late stages of an attack operation," it said. "Although the day passed without incident, there is reason to believe the threat remains." Stratfor said Thursday's alert, issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, came two days after Abdul Rasyid, one of Southeast Asia's most-wanted extremists, was arrested in a small village on Indonesia's Sumbawa Island, east of Java. It said Rasyid was believed to be a close associate of Noordin Mohammad Top, a Malaysian believed to have been a senior operative in Jemaah Islamiah. Jemaah Islamiah is the group responsible for the 2002 Bali bombing which killed 202, including 88 Australians, plus other attacks. Top is regarded by terror experts as the most dangerous man in Southeast Asia. "Indonesian counterterrorism agents could have obtained information from Rasyid during interrogation that suggested a militant attack was imminent," Stratfor said. "This information likely was passed to the Australians, who issued their warning. "It also is possible, however, that Rasyid was 'pinging' the system - deliberately giving false information in order to create a diversion or to study the official response in preparation for a future attack." Stratfor said Rasyid's arrest might have interrupted plans for an attack. But if the cell members remain at large, they could attack at a later date. "In fact, knowing that Rasyid is in custody could give the plotters a sense of urgency, forcing them to attempt an attack before their operation is totally compromised and more arrests follow," it said. "Because of the specific nature of the Australian warning, Canberra has good reason to believe in the seriousness of the threat. With a cell possibly still at large, Western interests in Indonesia should remain vigilant in the short term." © 2006 AAP Brought to Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
