German police to help terror probe

German police to help terror probe

JAKARTA: A German police officer has arrived in Jakarta to help Indonesian investigators question an Arab man held for possible ties to al-Qaeda, a police spokesman said Friday.

The German officer arrived in Jakarta Wednesday on a mission to "help our investigation" into the case of Seyam Reda, who carries a German passport, national police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saleh Saaf told AFP.

Saleh would not reveal the rank and identity of the visiting officer.

Indonesian intelligence agents arrested Reda last week for allegedly violating immigration law by claiming to be a journalist while using a tourist visa.

Police said Reda also possessed videotapes depicting training of armed civilian groups in conflict areas in Indonesia.

They said Reda might have information on Omar al-Faruq, named by U.S. intelligence officials as Southeast Asia's senior representative of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, according to a report in the September 23 edition of Time magazine. -- AFP