Malaysia Arrests Unveils Terror Network
By PATRICK McDOWELL 11/26/2002 14:42:27 EST
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Malaysia announced the arrest of three would-be
suicide bombers Tuesday amid growing concern over the extent to which an Islamic
terror network has survived efforts to destroy it.
The suspects were part of a plot by an ally of al-Qaida, Jemaah Islamiyah, to blow up
the U.S., Australian and British embassies in Singapore with truck bombs. The
scheme came to light late last year with scores of arrests in Malaysia and Singapore.
Although that plot was thwarted, the organization survived and is now accused of
carrying out the Oct. 12 bombings in Bali, Indonesia, that killed nearly 200 people,
mostly foreign tourists.
The investigations into the Bali attacks led to the arrest in Indonesia last week of the
suspected mastermind, Imam Samudra, who lived in Malaysia in the early 1990s and
was part of a rural religious school now known to have been a base for Jemaah
Islamiyah's leaders.
The school was closed by authorities as the Singapore plot was being dismantled, but
its existence - and the fact that at least four leaders of Jemaah Islamiyah, all
Indonesians, lived there until going home in 1999 - has deepened concern over the
group's infrastructure.
National Police Chief Norian Mai told reporters Tuesday that neither Malaysian nor
foreign intelligence agencies had information about any new threat to Malaysia.
"The possibility is always there," Norian said. "We have to be on alert all the time. I
cannot give a 100 percent guarantee that there is no threat in this country."
Meanwhile, Norian responded to reports that al-Qaida's operations chief in the Persian
Gulf, Abd al-Rahman al-Nashiri, was on his way to Malaysia when he was arrested
this month at an undisclosed location.
Norian said al-Nashiri had never been to this Southeast Asian country in the past, and
that the United States has provided no information that he tried to flee here.
The possibility of Malaysia being a refuge for terrorists prompted veteran opposition
leader Lim Kit Siang to urge the government Tuesday to prepare a public report to
clarify "a lot of confusing and contradictory statements about the terrorist threat."
"Questions have been raised, not only by Malaysians, as to why the two most notable
terrorists arrests recently, Imam Samudra and al-Nashiri, were en route to Malaysia
when they were apprehended, as reported by the international media," Lim said in a
statement.
The stakes are high. Malaysia has detained some 70 militant suspects since
mid-2001 and won praise from Washington for cooperating in the war against terrorism.
The country is one of the best-policed and wealthiest in Asia, with a predominantly
moderate Muslim majority.
But Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was outraged when the U.S. State Department
issued a travel advisory last week warning of possible Bali-style attacks here,
challenging Washington to show proof. Fear runs deep that perceptions of Malaysia as
a center for terrorism will frighten away foreign investment and tourists.
The government has struggled against such perceptions since it was learned that a
Malaysian member of Jemaah Islamiyah allowed his apartment to be used in January
2000 for a meeting that included two of the Sept. 11 hijackers. The member, Yazid
Sufaat, also provided a letter of employment that helped terror suspect Zacarias
Moussaoui enter the United States.
Yazid was arrested returning from Afghanistan last December and was questioned last
week by the FBI and a lawyer from the U.S. Attorney General's office. U.S. officials
have not commented on the interview, but Malaysians described Yazid as evasive.
The arrests of the three would-be suicide bombers and a fourth man believed to be part
of their unit, possibly to conduct surveillance, is a sign that Malaysia is keeping on the
pressure.
A Malaysian official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that the men
- three Malaysians and a Singaporean - were part of a backup unit.
They fled to Indonesia but returned to visit their families and were caught last week in
the southern state of Johor, the official said. Police are seeking at least four more
suspects and have stepped up security at seaports. |
