Three alleged terrorists flown to Bali

The Jakarta Post/Semarang/Bandung

Three Islamic militants believed to be members of terrorist cells linked to killed bomber Azahari bin Husin were transferred on Wednesday to Bali from Semarang as part of police efforts to shed light into their possible roles in recent terror attacks.

The three men captured last week in Semarang city were identified as Cholily alias Yahya, Anif Solchanudin and Abdul Azis.

Cholily, who was nabbed on Wednesday, is believed to be a follower of Azahari. His arrest led to the police raid a day later on a house in Batu, Malang that led to Azahari's death.

The two other suspected militants were captured on the same day but their roles in Azahari's network are still sketchy.

Bali Police spokesman Reniban said the three alleged terrorists would be questioned soon over the Bali bombings on Oct. 1, which killed 23 people, including three suicide bombers. Police would also grill them over their roles in the Bali attacks in 2002, which killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

Police sources said during their stay in Semarang, the three men were believed to have been plotting more bombings in the country, possibly with the cooperation of Azahari associate Noordin M. Top, who is still at large.

Noordin and Azahari are two key members of the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terror network, which is pursuing a Pan Islamic state in Southeast Asia and is linked to Al Qaeda.

The two Malaysian nationals are blamed for masterminding string of bombings in Indonesia during the past few years, including the Bali attacks, the JW Marriott Hotel bombing in 2003 and Australian Embassy bombing last year, the last two both in Jakarta.

Throughout the country, police continued to search for men believed to be connected with JI.

In Semarang, police arrested two more people believed to posses information as to the whereabouts of Azahari's group. They are Agung Pramono and Iwan Cahyono, who police believe to be business colleagues of Dwi Widyarto, an alleged member of Azahari's network.

In Bangkalan regency, Madura island, police had for the past three days been briefing gatherings of Muslim leaders about the police's hunt for the terrorists and asking them for help. Madura island is close to East Java, home to many of the terrorists who perpetrated the Bali bombings, such as convicted bomber Imam Samudra.

In Bandung, police continued combing several areas thought to be sanctuaries for JI terrorists, including houses on the border between the Bandung and Cianjur regencies. No arrests have been made, as yet.