Bali bombers' Jakarta link By Sian Powell, Trudy Harris and John Kerin 13aug03 INDONESIAN police believe key planners in last year's Bali bomb attacks may have been closely involved with last week's deadly blast at Jakarta's Marriott hotel. The revelation came as Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for last Tuesday's attack - which killed 12 people and injured more than 150 - and directly named Australia as a target of its activities. The message, attributed to the organisation's second-in-charge, Ayman al-Zawahiri, said the attack was "a fatal slap on the face of America and its allies in Muslim Jakarta, where faith has been denigrated by the dirty American presence and the discriminatory Australian presence". John Howard said the message was probably authentic, and highlighted the links between al-Qaeda and Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiah, which is held responsible for the Bali blasts. Australian domestic intelligence chief Dennis Richardson warned in a speech, released yesterday, that it was "only a matter of time" before there was another major attack, probably involving Australia. But the Prime Minister said counter-terrorism measures already in place were adequate and that the latest al-Qaeda statement did not "in itself change the threat level facing Australia". He said al-Qaeda had singled out Australia before and the latest warnings did not elevate the threat level. US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, in Canberra for talks with Mr Howard on regional security, said he was not surprised by the suggestion of a link between JI and al-Qaeda. "Clearly, JI, an affiliate of al-Qaeda, has made threats and is a threat to the Government of Indonesia, so I find it not surprising," Mr Armitage said. An article in the latest issue of The Bulletin magazine claims that the likelihood of an attack on Australia is increased by the fact that fugitive JI leader Hambali has a personal grudge against the country and would love to hit an Australian target. "Hambali is enraged about Australia," an unnamed intelligence analyst is quoted as saying. "It is definitely higher up the list of targets. Australia has become more of a target in its own right because of the role played not just in East Timor and Iraq and Afghanistan but because of the role in the war on terror of the (Australian Federal Police)". Police in Jakarta confirmed yesterday that they were investigating the possibility that Bali bomb-makers Dulmatin and Azahari bin Husin had sheltered suspected Marriott suicide bomber Asmar Latin Sani in Sumatra. "Our way now is to find the relation between Asmar and Dulmatin and Dr Azahari," said the policeman in charge of the inquiry, Erwin Mappaseng. "We will conduct an in-depth investigation to try and prove it." After DNA tests confirmed that 28-year-old Sumatran Latin Sani drove the Toyota Kijang people-mover that exploded in front of the Marriott hotel, General Mappaseng also said that Latin Sani had been a member of an elite bomb-making and suicide squad known as Laskar Khos, or special force. General Mappaseng said Latin Sani had been with a JI gang in Sumatra but escaped when members were arrested, and joined a Laskar Khos group led by a man named Mustofa, one of five JI members arrested in Jakarta in mid-July. "The chase continued and we found Mustofa's group, and between July 4 and July 9 we detained nine people and found so much proof in Semarang," General Mappaseng said. "He was included in this group as well." International Crisis Group Indonesia director Sidney Jones confirmed that Laskar Khos was JI's special forces grouping, comprising explosives experts and suicide bombers. She estimated that more than 20 Jemaah Islamiah members living in Indonesia were willing to commit suicide for their cause. Dr Jones said she thought it unlikely that al-Qaeda members had planned or implemented the Marriott attack, even though JI military chief Zulkarnaen was still at large and had good international contacts. "I still think scepticism is in order," she said. Former Indonesian defence minister Mahfud said the al-Qaeda claim of responsibility for the Marriott blast could not be believed. "Claims like that can be made by anyone," he said. "I could make a telephone call and say I am from al-Qaeda."
There's no need to post every article off of CNN.com on this bbs. We can all read that site ourselves, thank you. This is now your 6th new thread in 10 minutes.
Ease up on starting the new threads. Mango, where have you been? Still reading the board? One of those rare posts that we can agree on.
Glynch, I am still out <i>there</i>.......but for at least three months have been weaning myself from posting as much. The other week, HayesStreet agreed with and complimented a post that you made. Now you agree with me on something. Be careful because your comrades on the left will start questioning your credentials if you keep it up.
