Police search for terror suspects

JAKARTA: National Police will be on the lookout for five Islamic terrorists who Singapore claim have probably fled to Indonesia.

"Their names are on our wanted list," National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf said on Friday. He added that he had no idea whether the five were still in Indonesia or not.

Singapore's Home Affairs Ministry said on Thursday that about 12 members of Jamaah Islamiyah, which has been linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network, fled Singapore late last year. Five of the most dangerous men are believed to be Indonesia, it said.

Singapore has accused Jamaah Islamiyah of plotting to blow up the U.S. Embassy and ramming a plane into its airport complex.

Saleh said police had indications that Mas Selamat Kastari, whom Singapore says is the leader of the five-man group, entered Indonesia through the Sumatran port of Medan some time last month.

Saleh said he did not know whether Kastari, whom he said was a Singaporean citizen, was still in Indonesia. He said officers had no details about the other four.

Jakarta has consistently rejected accusations by the international community that it has failed to arrest Islamic militants operating on its soil. Neighboring Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines have detained dozens of suspected militants, several of them Indonesians. -- JP