----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 20:33:03 -0800 (PST) Subject: Fwd: STI News: Yemeni national a key player in Bali bomb blasts
> This message was forwarded to you from Straits Times Interactive >(http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg) by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Comments from sender: > fyi > > Yemeni national a key player in Bali bomb blasts > by Derwin Pereira > > JAKARTA - Two foreigners - a Yemeni and a Malaysian - are suspected to have played >a key role in the Bali bombing. > > Senior Indonesian intelligence sources told The Straits Times that the two, >especially Yemeni national and Al-Qaeda operative Syahfullah, provide clear evidence >that Osama bin Laden's terrorist network had a direct hand in the Oct 12 blasts. > > They said the 40-year-old Syahfullah, who was known to be responsible for a series >of terrorist attacks in the Middle East, particularly the bombing of an American >military barracks in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 soldiers, entered Indonesia on a >forged United States passport a few days before the bombing. > > He is believed to have coordinated the attack with Mukhlas, the elder brother of >detained suspect Amrozi, and Imam Samudra, who was arrested by police last week, in >what appeared to be the 'first tier of the operation's command hierarchy'. > > An intelligence source said: 'Basically, these three individuals hold the key to >what happened in Bali. They led a team of seven to 10 'foot soldiers' in executing >the attack. > > 'But Syahfullah was the key player - the ghost - who was calling the shots on the >ground and operating under the orders of Al-Qaeda.' > > Intelligence agencies here are now tracking his whereabouts, with sources saying he >could either have left the country immediately after the bombing or be seeking refuge >'somewhere in central Java'. > > The Straits Times first highlighted the Yemeni link to the Bali bombing in its >report on Nov 10. Syahfullah's name was given to President Megawati Sukarnoputri in a >top-secret document, two days after the blasts, as one of seven suspects. > > The document also names a Malaysian, Zubair, who fought in Afghanistan in the late >1980s. > > Zubair, who was reportedly responsible for surveillance and mapping of the target >site weeks before the attack, is a known member of Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) and >the Kumpulan Militan Malaysia. > > Officials said the names surfaced from the interrogation of a Muslim radical, Abu >Hurairah, who was caught a day after the bombing. > > Abu Hurairah is a close friend of Syawal, the son-in-law of the late Abdullah >Sungkar, who is one of the co-founders of the Jemaah Islamiah terrorist group. > > Syawal, known to have been an instructor at an Al-Qaeda-linked training camp near >Poso in Sulawesi, was said to have been also intricately involved in the planning >though he was not present at a meeting in Semarang, days before the attack. The >disclosure should widen the investigation beyond Indonesia's borders. > > The police, who have so far arrested Amrozi and Samudra, have been reluctant to >concede foreign involvement in the attack. > > But Al-Qaeda's role is becoming more pronounced as agencies here and abroad unravel >the terrorist network in Indonesia. It appears to have been financing radicals here >for the past three years. > > Sources said money was reportedly channelled to Sayam Reda, a 42-year-old German >national of Syrian descent, through the Saudi-based Al-Haramain foundation. > > Sayam, who had been living in the country since last August and had spent several >years in the Bosnia conflict, was believed to have been the 'paymaster' of a ring of >terrorists in Indonesia. > > They included Omar Al-Faruq, now under US custody in Afghanistan, and others like >senior JI member Agus Dwikarna, who is serving a 17-year jail sentence. > > Indonesian police arrested him three weeks before the Bali tragedy. American and >German intelligence seem to have linked him to the broader terrorist network in the >region, identifying him as someone possibly even more senior than Al-Faruq. > > Washington is said to have provided Jakarta surveillance tapes of Sayam >distributing arms in strife-torn Maluku. > > Noted a senior intelligence official: 'The network here is wider and deeper than >many people suspect.' There is a loose network of little Osamas and foot soldiers in >Indonesia - all linked dangerously to extremists in the Middle East. > IP Address:202.152.227.6 -- _______________________________________________ Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup One click access to the Top Search Engines http://www.exactsearchbar.com/mailcom
