Wednesday May 31, 2006

Militant trained by al-Qaeda

EXCLUSIVE
By WONG CHUN WAI and LOURDES CHARLES

KUALA LUMPUR: One of the 12 members of the new terror group Darul Islam arrested by the Malaysian police was trained by Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda movement in Afghanistan, investigations revealed.

The Indonesian, who was trained to handle arms and make bombs, is said to have conducted similar training for members of the group in Indonesia and in the southern Philippines.

Regional intelligence sources, who described the radical group as dangerous, said the man had been a strong source of influence on the rest of the other Darul Islam members.

They said the regional intelligence agencies had been keeping tabs on the group, particularly its link with the Abu Sayyaf, a small violent Muslim terrorist group operating in the southern Philippines.

Several of its leaders had reportedly fought in Afghanistan during the Soviet war and were students and proponents of radical Islamic teaching.

The Star had reported yesterday that a new terrorist group suspected of planning bomb attacks on several neighbouring countries had come to light following the arrest of 12 men.

The capture of the members of Darul Islam is the police’s biggest strike against terrorism since their crackdown five years ago on Kumpulan Militan Malaysia, which had links with the Jemaah Islamiah terror network.

The Darul Islam group, comprising mainly Indonesians, had at least two Malaysian members. The 12 detained under the Internal Security Act were arrested off the coast of Sandakan and Tawau following months of police surveillance.

Malaysian police said they viewed the state of security in Sabah seriously as it was an international tourism destination and that they would spare no effort in protecting visitors.

The United States Report on Terrorism 2005, which was released recently, had described the area surrounding the Sulawesi and Sulu Archipelago between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines was “well suited to terrorist operations and activities, such as movement of personnel, equipment and funds” because the geography of the thousands of islands makes it difficult for authorities to monitor activities there.

It said that the area “represents a safe haven for the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah group.”

The report cited the southern Philippines and Sabah as areas where the Abu Sayyaf had remained active despite the loss of several leaders.

But regional intelligence agencies said security in Sabah was good as the Malaysian police closely monitored radical groups.

According to a political analyst, the Malaysian police would not tolerate the presence of any Islamic radicals and had a strong record in picking them up in the early stages.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has instructed Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohd Bakri Omar to issue a full statement on the arrest of the 12 Darul Islam members.

In Kota Kinabalu, Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman said he had not been briefed on the arrest of the 12 men.

Musa, who is state Security Council chairman, said he was unaware of the arrests as there had not been a meeting of the state security council recently.

“There is no report on the matter to me as yet,” he said, while declining further comment.