RI minister warns of fresh terror attacks in Southeast Asia
RI minister warns of fresh terror attacks in Southeast Asia
Agence France-Presse, Manila
Indonesian security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday warned that terrorist outfits are plotting fresh attacks across Southeast Asia despite heavy blows suffered by the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) group.
"They are planning to conduct another strike in the future, not only in Indonesia but other countries in the region," Susilo told AFP in an interview here.
"From documents we captured during our investigation, they showed that terrorist groups are moving back and forth within the region."
The minister, who called on Philippines President Gloria Arroyo here earlier on Monday, urged Southeast Asian governments to "strengthen our cooperation -- intelligence, police and other technical cooperation to fight terrorism which is the number one threat in the region."
"The only answer is we should unite as a regional community and take collective action to prevent and deter and defeat terrorism."
Susilo's warning echoed an advisory issued by the U.S. state department last week.
It said the JI still had Americans in its sights after attacks on two Bali nightclubs last year and a U.S.-run hotel in Jakarta earlier this month, while the Philippines-based Abu Sayyaf guerrilla group could target Americans both in the Philippines and Indonesia.
"The U.S. Government believes extremist elements may be planning additional attacks targeting U.S. interests in Indonesia, particularly U.S. Government officials and facilities," the state department said.
It particularly mentioned so called "soft-targets" like bars, nightclubs and churches, which could attract terrorists since U.S. installations were better secured.
The warning also cited "a risk of kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group in the border areas of Indonesia near Malaysia and the Philippines."
Alleged JI operations chief Hambali, an Indonesian also known as Riduan Isamuddin, was arrested in Thailand on Aug. 11 and is now in U.S. custody in a secret location.
One Indonesian JI militant has been sentenced to death for the Bali bombings, with prosecutors also seeking the death penalty for a second of several suspects now on trial.
Susilo said the Philippines and Indonesia would cooperate and exchange information "as quickly as possible if we have any information on the presence of several dangerous men."
He said the terrorist watchlist included two Malaysians and an Indonesian who he did not name.
The Indonesian authorities earlier said Malaysian Azahari bin Husin is thought to have built the bomb that killed 12 people at the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta last month, with help from another Malaysian suspect named Noordin Muhammad Top.
Manila and Jakarta also "agreed to enhance cooperation on how we should capture Al-Ghozi," Susilo said, referring to convicted Indonesian JI bomber Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi, who escaped from a Philippines jail in July.
Susilo pledged to Arroyo Jakarta's "assistance and cooperation in the manhunt for Al-Ghozi," Arroyo's National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said in a statement.
Al-Ghozi and two Filipino Abu Sayyaf guerrillas escaped from a police prison in Manila on July 14.
He had been serving a 17-year prison term for procuring more than a tonne of explosives, which Al-Ghozi subsequently confessed was to have been used in a bombing campaign in Singapore.
He also said some of the explosives were used in a wave of bombings that killed 22 people in Manila in December 2000.
One of the two rebels who escaped with him was subsequently shot dead on the southern island of Mindanao last month.