Bali mastermind Hambali captured
From correspondents in Washington
15aug03
THE mastermind behind the Bali bombings, Riduan bin Isomuddin, also known as Hambali, has been captured by the United States, the White House announced early today.
The 36-year-old Islamic scholar and Jemaah Islamiya (JI) member is wanted in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines in connection with a series of bomb attacks.
"His capture is another important victory in the global war on terrorism and a significant blow to the enemy," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters from the presidential plane, Air Force One.
A senior administration official called Hambali "one of the world's most lethal terrorists", saying his group, JI, was behind the Bali bombing and church bomb attacks in the Philippines.
He is also a leading suspect in the recent Marriott hotel bombing in Jakarta and a close associate of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a deputy to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who is already in US custody.
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