Thursday, June 21, 2007

Yeehaw! Bali Bomber Noordin Top captured

Well, reported captured anyway. Indonesia: Fugitive Bombing 'Mastermind' Arrested.

Indonesian police have arrested key Bali bombing suspect, Malaysian national Noordin Mohammed Top, the well respected Detikcom news agency reports. He is considered the mastermind behind a series of bombings in Indonesia, including the 2002 and 2005 Bali nightclub attacks which killed over 250 people. Police arrested Top on 14 June, in Brebes Central Java and intend to announce this on 1 July - national police day in Indonesia, Detikcom said, quoting an unnamed source.

The report of Top's arrest follows that of the arrest of Abu Dujana, the alleged military commander of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist network and Zarkasih, believed to be JI's supreme leader. Zarkasih (also known by the aliases Nuaim, Abu Irsyad and Mbah). Both men were seized on 9 June in an anti terrorist police raid in Banyumas, central Java, the chief of indonesia's anti-terrorist unit announced last Friday.

Indonesia's most wanted fugitive, Top was once one of the leaders of JI. According to experts, the Malaysian is believed to have created his own splinter group, after JI expressed a preference for preaching instead of armed struggle.

JI is responsible for a string of deadly terror attacks in Indonesia in recent years including the 2002 and 2005 Bali attacks and bombings of the Marriott Hotel and the Australian embassy in Jakarta.Noordin is now believed to be the head of the group known as Tanzim Qaedat al-Jihad - which is said to be the original name of al-Qaeda.