Bush thanks Thailand for capture of Hambali
Bush thanks Thailand for capture of Hambali
Jim Gomez, Associated Press, Bangkok
United States President George W. Bush on Tuesday personally thanked Thailand for the capture of Asia's top terror suspect Hambali, who according to officials was tracked down in a highly secretive CIA-backed operation after Cambodia and Singapore provided crucial leads, officials said.
Hambali is accused of masterminding bomb attacks against U.S. and other Western targets across Southeast Asia and has been described as al-Qaeda's pointman in the region. He is now being held by the United States.
Bush relayed his "deep appreciation" for the August arrest to Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in talks on the sidelines of a summit of Pacific Rim leaders in Bangkok on Tuesday, Thai foreign ministry spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkeow said.
On the weekend Bush announced that Thailand had been afforded the status of a non-NATO ally of the United States -- an elite promotion that opens up priority military aid and cooperation.
Hambali, an Indonesian whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin, was nabbed because of rapid exchanges of intelligence information bolstered by an antiterrorist network among Southeast Asian nations and American authorities, Sihasak said on Monday.
Hambali was allegedly plotting new attacks when arrested in Thailand, he said.
"It was a regional and international effort," Sihasak said. "What's important was we arrested him before something dangerous or serious happened. That was our main concern. It was very timely," he added.
Southeast Asian security officials have recently disclosed details that led to the Aug. 11 arrest of the man accused of being Osama bin Laden's top operative in Southeast Asia and the operations chief of the al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah -- the militant group that is blamed for the bombings that killed 202 people in Bali, Indonesia, last year and a blast at Jakarta's JW Marriott Hotel in August, that killed 12.
Hambali is also linked to a series of deadly blasts in the Philippines,
One senior security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the breakthrough for his capture was provided by Cambodian authorities after they arrested an Egyptian and two Thais and closed down a local Muslim group, Om Al Qura, in an antiterrorist sweep.
The operation was launched before Phnom Penh hosted annual meetings of Southeast Asian foreign ministers and a security forum attended by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Some of those arrested allegedly described a frequent visitor -- a European-looking man with a Spanish passport -- who Cambodian authorities readily recognized as resembling Hambali. The information and the name of the man was passed on to Thai police and immigration authorities who reviewed all travelers shuttling through Bangkok and Cambodia, the official said.
Attention was focused on the owner of one Spanish passport, which was due to expire, and authorities waited for somebody to show up to renew the document. A courier working for Hambali renewed the passport and was tailed by Thai authorities in an elaborate surveillance that involved several undercover agents in different cars, the official said.
"What made the authorities really suspect the man was the way he made a long, circuitous trip before finally heading for Ayutthaya," the official said, referring to the central Thai temple city, where U.S. and Thai authorities barged into a house and found Hambali.
Thai authorities interrogated Hambali, who revealed new plots to attack Western embassies and establishments in Thailand, then turned him over to American officials.
Complementing Cambodia's breakthrough in the case was information relayed by Singaporean authorities, who interrogated a Singaporean militant arrested in Thailand and deported back home, Sihasak said, refusing to elaborate. Singapore's tips provided insights on Jamaah Islamiyah that gave Hambali away, he said.