Al-Qaeda bankrolled Jakarta bombing: Report
Al-Qaeda bankrolled Jakarta bombing: Report
Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network bankrolled last year's bombing
outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, a key militant charged
for the attack told Indonesian police, the Australian newspaper
said on Monday.
In a police interrogation, Rois, also known as Iwan Dharmawan,
said a courier had delivered a bundle of Australian dollars to
fugitive Malaysian bomb maker Azahari bin Husin, the newspaper
said.
Rois, who was arrested late last year, said Azahari told him
the bombing cost as much as A$10,000 (US$7,600), and that the
money came from bin Laden.
Australia was targeted because of its support for the U.S.-led
war in Iraq, Rois said, according to a transcript of the police
interrogation seen by the Australian newspaper.
"The intention to bomb the Australian embassy was because the
Australian government is the American lackey most active in
supporting American policies to slaughter Muslims in Iraq. It had
the aim of preventing Australia leaning on Muslims, especially in
Iraq," Rois said.
Indonesian officials could not immediately be reached for
comment.
Rois is on trial on charges of buying the vehicle and
recruiting the driver used for the suicide car bomb attack
outside the embassy last September that killed 10 people.
Authorities have accused Azahari of being a key figure behind
the blast.
He is a senior member of Jamaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian
militant group seen as al-Qaeda's arm in the region and blamed by
authorities for the spate of bombings including the embassy
strike and the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings.
Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said interviews in
Indonesia had found a link between al-Qaeda and Jamaah Islamiyah
(JI).
"We know over a long period of time that al-Qaeda has been
supporting and funding some of JI's operations. What we've learnt
from the questioning in Indonesia is that those linkages remain
in place," Ruddock told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Two men have so far been jailed over the embassy attack, one
to four years jail and the other to 42 months. They had played
relatively minor roles in the blast.
No foreigners were killed in the attack. The Bali bombings
killed 202 people, mainly foreign tourists, including 88 from
Australia. -- Reuters