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JTIC exclusive - Unravelling the plots: progress in the Bali bombing investigation
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| 07 January 2003 |
By John B Haseman
The international team co-operating in the investigation into the Kuta beach bombing on the island of Bali has helped the Indonesian police to arrest more than two dozen suspects; many are alleged to have played key roles in planning and conducting the bombing.
Investigators have uncovered a network of loose ties among the individuals involved in the Bali bombing, those involved in previous terrorist attacks in Indonesia, the regional terrorist organisation Jemaah Islamiyyah (JI) and the international Al-Qaeda terrorist network. The Bali bombing has been officially attributed to JI, with assistance from individuals tied to Al-Qaeda as well as others not known to be affiliated with known terrorist organisations.
The police and intelligence investigation has proven to all but the most sceptical of Indonesians that terrorists have been working among them for many years. This admission has been particularly difficult for many senior Indonesian political figures, especially those who have forged ties with the rising force of political Islam in Indonesia. Most importantly, it may have finally galvanised Indonesia's weak political leadership, its intelligence community and its security forces into taking action against domestic extremists suspected of involvement in dozens of terrorist incidents around the country.
The first person arrested, Amrozi, was captured in East Java on 5 November 2002. He admitted buying chemicals used to make the Bali bombs, providing the bomb-carrying and acquiring weapons and ammunition that he hid near his East Java village.
Another key participant is Abdul Aziz, alias Imam Samudra, who is suspected of being the team leader and "field commander" for the operation. He was arrested on 21 November at the Banten Province ferry terminal at Merak while waiting to board a ferry to Sumatra and onward, it is suspected, to a hiding place in Malaysia.
Police arrested a third key suspect, Ali Gufron (better known as Mukhlas), in Central Java on 5 December 2002. Mukhlas is one of Amrozi's older brothers. He has reportedly connected Amrozi and Imam Samudra to JI. Mukhlas has admitted to police that he organised and supervised the Bali attack.
Planning for the Bali attack apparently began in January 2002, when several senior JI council members met in southern Thailand after Singaporean officials had crippled the organisation by arresting a number of JI cadre plotting to attack Western targets there. Among the JI council leaders alleged to have attended the January meeting were Islamic fundamentalist spiritual leader Abu Bakar Basyir, Riduan Isamuddin alias Hambali, Mukhlas, Imam Samudra and two others remaining at large. A second meeting took place in February 2002, reportedly in Bangkok. During the January meeting JI leaders allegedly decided to switch from government targets to so-called ‘soft’ targets to avoid the extensive security provided to foreign embassies in the region after the revelations of the Singapore arrests. Bali was selected as an active target during the February meeting.
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