Police confirm Asmar's JI ties<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Police have confirmed the link between Asmar Latin Sani, the man
\nwho allegedly drove the car that carried the bomb used in the JW
\nMarriott Hotel attack, and the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist
\nnetwork, saying the 28-year-old belonged to a JI squad led by
\nMustofa.<\/p>\n
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Tuesday that
\nAsmar, whose severed head was found on the fifth floor of the
\nhotel, was a member of Mustofa's squad.<\/p>\n
\"But I have no idea what kind of squad it was. Asmar was on
\nour wanted list along with other suspects, some of whom have been
\narrested,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A police source said Mustofa led a khos (special) suicide
\nsquad believed to have between 10 and 15 members.<\/p>\n
Mustofa -- who has numerous aliases, including Pranata Yuda,
\nAbu Tholut, Yono and Imron -- is believed to be the former head
\nof the JI state-level area called Mantiqi Thalid (III), which
\noversees Sulawesi, Sabah and Mindanao.<\/p>\n
He was allegedly serving as the leader of the JI headquarters
\nin Jakarta when he was arrested in Kaliabang, north Bekasi, early
\nlast month. During the same period that Mustofa was detained,
\npolice also arrested between July 4 and July 9 a total of nine
\nsuspected JI members in Semarang, Central Java.<\/p>\n
Mustofa allegedly was the owner of almost two tons of
\nexplosives found at a rented house in Semarang.<\/p>\n
He told police that he received military training in
\nAfghanistan in 1987 and 1988, and served as a trainer at the Al
\nIslami Al Jamaah training camp in the southern Philippines in
\n1997 and 1998.<\/p>\n
National Police chief of detectives, Comr. Gen. Erwin
\nMappaseng, said Asmar was among the suspects being sought by
\npolice following the arrest of the nine suspects in Semarang.<\/p>\n
\"We were searching for him (Asmar) when we arrested Toni
\nTogar's group in Pekanbaru, Riau and Medan, North Sumatra. But we
\nfailed to find him. When we arrested Mustofa, he (Asmar) was also
\nincluded (on the wanted list),\" he said, declining to confirm if
\nAsmar was a member of Mustofa's alleged suicide squad.<\/p>\n
Erwin also declined to comment on a report that Asmar harbored
\ntwo key suspects in last year's Bali bombings -- Dr. Azhari and
\nDulmatin -- at his home in Bengkulu.<\/p>\n
\"That is the direction we are going in. We are investigating
\nif they were connected,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Erwin said the police had completed about 90 percent of their
\ninvestigation at the Marriott blast site.<\/p>\n
\"We are going to proceed with the most difficult part of the
\ninvestigation, which is chasing the suspects,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Also on Tuesday, a suspicious brown suitcase was found near
\nthe Darul Abror Mosque in the National Atomic Energy Agency
\nhousing complex in Rawa Bambu, Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Eyewitnesses said two people riding a motorcycle left the
\nsuitcase near the mosque at 10 a.m.<\/p>\n
They reported the incident to the local police, who contacted
\nthe Jakarta Police's bomb squad.<\/p>\n
At 11:30 a.m., eight bomb squad officers led by First Insp.
\nTriadimus detonated the suspicious suitcase.<\/p>\n
There was no immediate word on what the suitcase contained.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-confirm-asmars-ji-ties-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }