Police accuse six terror suspects of hiding Malaysian 'masterminds'

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta

Six terror suspects arrested recently in the Central Java town of Sukoharjo hid Malaysian fugitives Azahari and Noordin Moh. Top in Jakarta last year, police said on Monday.

National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung Sudjono said, however, that the police believed the suspects could still lead them to both Azahari and Noordin, the bomb experts accused of masterminding the JW Marriot Hotel bombing in Jakarta in August last year, which left 12 people dead.

"We are now still questioning the suspects. We hope we can locate Azahari and Noordin after the interrogation as we believe they know the two men's whereabouts," said Suyitno.

He said the two Malaysians were still in Indonesia.

"We are still trying to locate them. We believe they have not left the country," said Suyitno.

The two Malaysians are also wanted in connection with the 2002 Bali bombings that claimed the lives of 202 people, mostly foreigners.

Suyitno said the six suspects were believed to have hidden the two bomb experts both before and after the Marriott bombing.

Subsequently, both Noordin and Azahari left Jakarta for Bandung to evade the police dragnet. They escaped a police raid on their rented rooms in Bandung in September last year.

The authorities had warned that they were armed with explosives, and planning fresh attacks ahead of the July 5 presidential elections.

Police arrested the six people in Sukoharjo last week and questioned them for their alleged involvement in the Bali and Jakarta hotel bombings. The arrests followed the capture of a terror suspect identified as Dahlan on Lombok island.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar has said the six people were members of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), the al Qaeda-linked terror group which is believed to have masterminded all the bomb attacks across the country in the past few years.

Da'i said the results of their interrogations revealed that they were also allegedly involved in a plan to attack the United Nations building early in 2003.

The police have said that one of the six people, identified only by his initials as US, is a citizen of a neighboring country. The remaining suspects were identified as AD, BA, MT, UM, and FH.

National Police antiterrorism division director Brig. Gen. Pranowo said the police were uncertain if any of the suspects could testify against terrorist suspect Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, who is currently awaiting trial.

Ba'asyir is believed to be the spiritual leader of JI, and has been accused of being behind all the bomb attacks across the country since 1999.