BIN identifies Hambali's network

JAKARTA: The National Intelligence Agency (BIN) has obtained from the United States reliable data describing Riduan Isamuddin alias Hambali's terrorist network, an intelligence officer says.

BIN chief Hendropriyono said here on Wednesday that his office had received the data after sending questions to the U.S., where Hambali has been held since his arrest last August in Thailand.

Hambali, believed to be the top man of Southeast Asia's Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist network, has been accused of plotting the Bali bombings on Oct. 12, 2002, in which at least 202 people were killed and over 300 others injured.

Hendropriyono said although police had not been given direct access to Hambali, BIN had obtained enough details of JI's activities in Southeast Asia.

"We have obtained a description of how big the network is and how far its targets (stretch). Some of the descriptions are categorized as information and others as intelligence data," he said.

Hendropriyono also stressed the importance of direct access to Hambali, as stipulated by Indonesia's legal system. -- JP