'Regional terrorist training is real'
'Regional terrorist training is real'
Associated Press, Canberra
Australia said on Sunday terrorists were being trained in
Indonesia and other southeast Asian countries and that Canberra
was working with the United States to reduce the threat they pose
to the region.
However, Defense Minister Robert Hill said he did not expect
Washington to use military force against them.
"We think there is evidence of some communication and some
training of terrorists across into our region, including
Indonesia," he told Seven Network television. "And therefore
it's ... in the interests of Australians that we work with
Indonesia to ensure that there's not a threat to Australia
arising out of it."
He said Australia and the United States had exchanged
information with Indonesian authorities on the movement of people
who have suspected terrorist links. He did not give further
details.
Concerns about terrorism in Asia have grown after the arrest
of dozens of suspected Muslim extremists in Malaysia, Singapore
and the Philippines in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks in
the United States.
Western officials have said terrorist groups with links to al-
Qaeda are also operating in Indonesia, the world's most populous
Muslim nation, and Australia's northern neighbor. The officials
have accused Indonesia's government of doing too little to clamp
down on the groups.
Last month, FBI director Robert Mueller said the United States
had clear evidence that members of the al-Qaeda terrorist network
of Osama bin Laden were operating in Asia. He said al-Qaeda had
tried to obtain weapons of mass destruction.
Also Sunday, Hill said the government expected the United
States to allow Australian officials to question an Australian
man suspected of having links to al-Qaeda after he is transferred
to a U.S. prison camp in Cuba from Afghanistan.
Hill said Mamdouh Habib was due to be moved to Camp X-ray in
Guantanamo Bay over the weekend. Habib is the second Australian
detained for allegedly training with al-Qaeda.