Alleged al-Qaeda-linked network in Central Java<\/p>\n
Yogita Tahil Ramani and Kartika Bagus C., The Jakarta Post,
\nJakarta\/Surakarta<\/p>\n
Several members of an Indonesian Islamic militant group with
\nreported ties to the al-Qaeda network, Jemaah Islamiya (JI), have
\nbeen spotted in Sragen, some 20 kilometers east of Surakarta, in
\nCentral Java, authorities said.<\/p>\n
According to Sragen police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Charles Himler
\nNgili, some 30 members of JI had spread out in the districts of
\nSambung Macan, Gondang Legi, Masaran, and Kali Jambe in the
\nSragen regency.<\/p>\n
\"They carry out their extremist activities in the districts of
\nSragen, but their main organization is based in Sukoharjo and in
\nNgawi,\" Charles told The Jakarta Post on Friday.<\/p>\n
He declined to say what the group members were doing.<\/p>\n
Both Sukoharjo in Central Java and Ngawi in East Java are
\nlocated near Sragen.<\/p>\n
Charles said that their presence in the area became known
\nfollowing clashes in Ngawi, which involved members of the Forum
\nof Ngawi Muslims (FUIN) and Laskar Jihad. Dozens were arrested
\nafter the rioting, which followed their raid on gambling dens in
\nNgawi in November.<\/p>\n
\"Some of these JI members were involved in the riots. The (JI)
\nindividuals in Sragen all live separately. When there are jobs to
\ndo, they are called upon by their group from its respective cells
\nin Java,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Charles added that he had received orders from the National
\nPolice to monitor their routine activities more closely.<\/p>\n
No arrests have been made following the discovery.<\/p>\n
The Straits Times has reported that the JI sees itself as the
\nnew Darul Islam, a group that tried to establish an Islamic state
\nin Indonesia in 1949.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, intelligence police intensified their questioning
\nof Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, asking him repeatedly if al-
\nQaeda representatives had ever approached him as chief of the
\nIndonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) -- or any of his members --
\nwith offers of financial support.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir firmly denied this.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir's lawyer, Ahmad Michdan, said that, during Friday's
\nquestioning, Sr. Comr. Bagus of the National Police Intelligence
\nalso asked his client if he ever had any connection with al
\nQaeda-linked suspect Abu Jibril.<\/p>\n
\"Ustad Ba'asyir admitted that he was well-acquainted with Abu
\nJibril, a popular Islamic preacher in Malaysia. In the time Ustad
\nBa'asyir was in Malaysia, he had encountered the preacher
\npersonally on several occasions, since both worked spreading the
\nword of Islam,\" Ahmad told the Post during Ba'asyir's second day
\nof questioning.<\/p>\n
\"Abu Jibril's teachings were also the same as Ustad
\nBa'asyir's ... and contained the teachings of jihad and mati
\nsyahid,\" to die fighting in the name of the teachings of Islam,
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
The Straits Times said Abu Jibril was an MMI member on the run
\nfrom the Malaysian police, who suspected him as having been the
\npoint man for the group's communications with al-Qaeda.<\/p>\n
Ahmad professed shock upon hearing that Jibril was still a
\nfugitive, and added that, according to Ba'asyir and National
\nPolice Intelligence officials, Jibril was in fact in the custody
\nof Malaysian police.<\/p>\n
Ustad Abu Jibril was arrested under Malaysia's Internal
\nSecurity Act (ISA) \"and is currently being held in a special
\nprison in the Perak area of Malaysia,\" Ahmad said.<\/p>\n
Jibril is originally from Lombok, and not a Mujahidin, Ahmad
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir had been detained by Malaysian police last month,
\nalong with 12 other militants believed by police to be KMM
\nmembers, including Indonesians Hambali and Mohammad Iqbal, for
\nallegedly trying to foment an Islamic government.<\/p>\n
He was eventually released and deported to Indonesia after the
\nMalaysians found no evidence against him.<\/p>\n
\"Police here also asked him how well he knew Hambali ... he
\nsaid he was not well acquainted with him. Ustad was also asked
\nabout a Muslim named Faiqh, who is allegedly being held on
\ncharges of trying to go on a jihad. Ustad Ba'asyir said he knew
\nFaiqh well,\" Michdan said.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir's questioning session on Friday ended at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
To verify Ba'asyir's statements, National Police inspector-
\ngeneral Comr. Gen. Ahwil Luthan will go to Malaysia on Saturday.<\/p>\n
It was not immediately clear why Ahwil, better known as an
\nintellectual than a detective, was picked for the job.<\/p>\n
Regarding Fathur Rohman, an Indonesian with alleged ties to
\nal-Qaeda who is currently in police custody in the Philippines,
\nAhwil said he would be tried there.<\/p>\n
\"He committed his crime in the Philippines -- we will let
\nFathur's case be processed by the legal system there,\" Ahwil
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/alleged-al-qaeda-linked-network-in-central-java-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}