Aussie E
07-15-2004, 02:25 PM
from www.theaustralian.news.com.au
Indonesian agents track down JI's Australian 'leader'
By Martin Chulov, Jakarta
July 16, 2004
THE former Perth school teacher accused of leading the Jemaah Islamiah terror group in Australia has been found in West Java by Indonesian intelligence and could be extradited to face charges in his adopted country.
Abdul Rahim Ayub, a dual Australian and Indonesian citizen, was located about three months ago at Puncak, a town near the West Java city of Bogor. He has been co-operating with Indonesia's national intelligence agency, BIN.
The agency's Australian counterpart, ASIO, and Attorney-General Philip Ruddock were told recently about Mr Ayub's whereabouts. He has not been arrested but has been extensively questioned and remains under the watch of BIN agents.
Sources in Indonesia say neither Mr Ayub, nor his twin brother Abdul Rahman, have been linked to any terrorist act in Indonesia or raised the interest of counter-terrorism police, who until this week did not know of his co-operation.
Mr Ayub has denied to BIN he is a member of JI, insisting the outlawed terror group was no more than a band of like-minded Islamic ideologues. He has, however, provided significant information about the names and whereabouts of other men linked by police to JI, giving agents a clearer picture of the radical network.
Before being traced to Puncak, two hours' drive south of Jakarta, he was last sighted at a two-day conference of JI leaders in the Central Java hillside resort of Tawangamangu on October 16-17, 2002, four days after the Bali bombings.
His attendance at this meeting has long raised the interest of the Australian Federal Police who last year seriously considered forming a taskforce to look for him in Indonesia.
The AFP also wants to investigate revelations that emerged during the trials of two Bali suspects last year, Idris and Mubarok, both of whom said they were sworn into JI by Abdul Rahim.
The twins were named by convicted Perth-based terrorist Jack Roche as the dual heads of JI in Australia. Abdul Rahman was deported to Indonesia in 1999 after having an application for refugee status in Australia denied.
Mr Ruddock last night confirmed knowledge of Mr Ayub's contact with Indonesian authorities, but would not be drawn on the possibility of extradition proceedings being launched by Australia.
"Ayub is the subject of ongoing investigations, but we won't discuss the detail of what we are receiving," he said. "I am not in a position to rule in, or rule out extradition."
Government sources said it was not clear whether he had committed any alleged offence under Australian law.
One of the men at the October 2002 meeting, former JI chief Mohammed Nassir bin Abbas, told The Australian this week that Mr Ayub attended in his capacity as chief of Mantiqi Uchro -- one of four geographic regions designated by JI.
"I had not seen him for many years," said Mr Nassir, who commanded one of the regions until his arrest in April 2003. "He started by saying, 'I simply don't know what I can contribute to this discussion', and his contribution was a series of sermons."
Mr Nassir said he had first met Mr Ayub at a training camp in the southern Philippines in 1996, but he would not be drawn on what Mr Ayub was doing there.
After the 2002 meeting, also attended by one of the key organisers of the Bali bombings, Mukhlas, Mr Ayub laid low and did not return to Australia.
He has since stayed in contact with only a small group of friends.
According to Mr Nassir, Mr Ayub's twin brother, Abdul Rahman, deputised for him at a later JI regional meeting held in Bogor in April 2003.
"Mr Ayub has not been inciting anyone to jihad," said one senior counter-terrorism official.
"His cover is that of a vendor. We think that what he has to offer is significant, but we need to make further checks."
An examination this week of the records of interview of six accused terrorists in Indonesia reveal that all knew Mr Ayub but they had little to do with him since he moved to Australia in the early 1990s.
However, all gave him the revered title of Ustad - Islamic scholar and teacher.
An excerpt of an interview with accused JI spiritual leader Abu Rusdan said: "I know that he married an Australian woman in 1985, but I have only heard from him occasionally."
Mukhlas also admitted to knowing Mr Ayub well.
Mr Nassir said he had first met Mr Ayub at a training camp in the southern Philippines in 1996, but he would not be drawn on what Mr Ayub was doing there.
After the 2002 meeting, also attended by one of the key organisers of the Bali bombings, Mukhlas, Mr Ayub laid low and did not return to Australia.
He has since stayed in contact with only a small group of friends.
According to Mr Nassir, Mr Ayub's twin brother, Abdul Rahman, deputised for him at a later JI regional meeting held in Bogor in April 2003.
"Mr Ayub has not been inciting anyone to jihad," said one senior counter-terrorism official.
"His cover is that of a vendor. We think that what he has to offer is significant, but we need to make further checks."
An examination this week of the records of interview of six accused terrorists in Indonesia reveal that all knew Mr Ayub but they had little to do with him since he moved to Australia in the early 1990s.
However, all gave him the revered title of Ustad - Islamic scholar and teacher.
An excerpt of an interview with accused JI spiritual leader Abu Rusdan said: "I know that he married an Australian woman in 1985, but I have only heard from him occasionally."
Mukhlas also admitted to knowing Mr Ayub well.
Terror's tentacles spread
By John Kerin
July 16, 2004
PAKISTANI-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is alleged to have trained Australian terror suspects David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, is extending its operational tentacles into Southeast Asia.
A terrorism white paper released by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer yesterday examines the future of the terrorist threat to Australia.
It says support for al-Qaeda regional offshoot Jemaah Islamiah is growing despite the arrest of more than 300 operatives in the wake of September 11 and the Bali bombing.
Though Lashkar-e-Taiba was involved in providing training to Southeast Asian-based terrorist groups such as JI and the Philippines-based Abu Sayyaf in Pakistan and Kashmir, some of its operatives are networking with al-Qaeda-linked terror cells in Southeast Asia.
LET, as it is known, is the armed wing of Pakistan-based religious extremists who aim to remove Indian troops from the disputed province of Kashmir. The Indian Government has expressed concerns it has a more ambitious agenda.
"Jemaah Islamiah's links with Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and Kashmir are particularly significant for our region," the paper says.
"There have been indications that Lashkar-e-Taiba is seeking to extend its operational reach into Southeast Asia and Australia from its traditional preoccupation with Kashmir. In 2003 a Jemaah Islamiah cell in Karachi, Pakistan, known as the Al Ghuruba cell, was disrupted. The cell was found to contain Southeast Asian university students (who) were being groomed as future Jemaah Islamiah leaders.
"Transnational terrorism is not a one-way flow ... international terrorist groups reach into Southeast Asia but groups from within our region reach out," it says.
The white paper also warns that the "numbers of Jemaah Islamiah members and supporters is likely to be growing".
"A steady flow of extremists is being produced by a small number of radical religious schools (throughout Southeast Asia) and through dedicated Jemaah Islamiah military training," the report says.
"And the high profile of Jemaah Islamiah's operations will help its efforts to inspire a new cohort of radicals to join the terrorist ranks," it says.
The report warns that Jemaah Islamiah is likely to persist with suicide bombings and truck-bomb attacks and will seek to extend its links into Thai and Burmese Muslim separatist groups.
Indonesian agents track down JI's Australian 'leader'
By Martin Chulov, Jakarta
July 16, 2004
THE former Perth school teacher accused of leading the Jemaah Islamiah terror group in Australia has been found in West Java by Indonesian intelligence and could be extradited to face charges in his adopted country.
Abdul Rahim Ayub, a dual Australian and Indonesian citizen, was located about three months ago at Puncak, a town near the West Java city of Bogor. He has been co-operating with Indonesia's national intelligence agency, BIN.
The agency's Australian counterpart, ASIO, and Attorney-General Philip Ruddock were told recently about Mr Ayub's whereabouts. He has not been arrested but has been extensively questioned and remains under the watch of BIN agents.
Sources in Indonesia say neither Mr Ayub, nor his twin brother Abdul Rahman, have been linked to any terrorist act in Indonesia or raised the interest of counter-terrorism police, who until this week did not know of his co-operation.
Mr Ayub has denied to BIN he is a member of JI, insisting the outlawed terror group was no more than a band of like-minded Islamic ideologues. He has, however, provided significant information about the names and whereabouts of other men linked by police to JI, giving agents a clearer picture of the radical network.
Before being traced to Puncak, two hours' drive south of Jakarta, he was last sighted at a two-day conference of JI leaders in the Central Java hillside resort of Tawangamangu on October 16-17, 2002, four days after the Bali bombings.
His attendance at this meeting has long raised the interest of the Australian Federal Police who last year seriously considered forming a taskforce to look for him in Indonesia.
The AFP also wants to investigate revelations that emerged during the trials of two Bali suspects last year, Idris and Mubarok, both of whom said they were sworn into JI by Abdul Rahim.
The twins were named by convicted Perth-based terrorist Jack Roche as the dual heads of JI in Australia. Abdul Rahman was deported to Indonesia in 1999 after having an application for refugee status in Australia denied.
Mr Ruddock last night confirmed knowledge of Mr Ayub's contact with Indonesian authorities, but would not be drawn on the possibility of extradition proceedings being launched by Australia.
"Ayub is the subject of ongoing investigations, but we won't discuss the detail of what we are receiving," he said. "I am not in a position to rule in, or rule out extradition."
Government sources said it was not clear whether he had committed any alleged offence under Australian law.
One of the men at the October 2002 meeting, former JI chief Mohammed Nassir bin Abbas, told The Australian this week that Mr Ayub attended in his capacity as chief of Mantiqi Uchro -- one of four geographic regions designated by JI.
"I had not seen him for many years," said Mr Nassir, who commanded one of the regions until his arrest in April 2003. "He started by saying, 'I simply don't know what I can contribute to this discussion', and his contribution was a series of sermons."
Mr Nassir said he had first met Mr Ayub at a training camp in the southern Philippines in 1996, but he would not be drawn on what Mr Ayub was doing there.
After the 2002 meeting, also attended by one of the key organisers of the Bali bombings, Mukhlas, Mr Ayub laid low and did not return to Australia.
He has since stayed in contact with only a small group of friends.
According to Mr Nassir, Mr Ayub's twin brother, Abdul Rahman, deputised for him at a later JI regional meeting held in Bogor in April 2003.
"Mr Ayub has not been inciting anyone to jihad," said one senior counter-terrorism official.
"His cover is that of a vendor. We think that what he has to offer is significant, but we need to make further checks."
An examination this week of the records of interview of six accused terrorists in Indonesia reveal that all knew Mr Ayub but they had little to do with him since he moved to Australia in the early 1990s.
However, all gave him the revered title of Ustad - Islamic scholar and teacher.
An excerpt of an interview with accused JI spiritual leader Abu Rusdan said: "I know that he married an Australian woman in 1985, but I have only heard from him occasionally."
Mukhlas also admitted to knowing Mr Ayub well.
Mr Nassir said he had first met Mr Ayub at a training camp in the southern Philippines in 1996, but he would not be drawn on what Mr Ayub was doing there.
After the 2002 meeting, also attended by one of the key organisers of the Bali bombings, Mukhlas, Mr Ayub laid low and did not return to Australia.
He has since stayed in contact with only a small group of friends.
According to Mr Nassir, Mr Ayub's twin brother, Abdul Rahman, deputised for him at a later JI regional meeting held in Bogor in April 2003.
"Mr Ayub has not been inciting anyone to jihad," said one senior counter-terrorism official.
"His cover is that of a vendor. We think that what he has to offer is significant, but we need to make further checks."
An examination this week of the records of interview of six accused terrorists in Indonesia reveal that all knew Mr Ayub but they had little to do with him since he moved to Australia in the early 1990s.
However, all gave him the revered title of Ustad - Islamic scholar and teacher.
An excerpt of an interview with accused JI spiritual leader Abu Rusdan said: "I know that he married an Australian woman in 1985, but I have only heard from him occasionally."
Mukhlas also admitted to knowing Mr Ayub well.
Terror's tentacles spread
By John Kerin
July 16, 2004
PAKISTANI-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is alleged to have trained Australian terror suspects David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, is extending its operational tentacles into Southeast Asia.
A terrorism white paper released by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer yesterday examines the future of the terrorist threat to Australia.
It says support for al-Qaeda regional offshoot Jemaah Islamiah is growing despite the arrest of more than 300 operatives in the wake of September 11 and the Bali bombing.
Though Lashkar-e-Taiba was involved in providing training to Southeast Asian-based terrorist groups such as JI and the Philippines-based Abu Sayyaf in Pakistan and Kashmir, some of its operatives are networking with al-Qaeda-linked terror cells in Southeast Asia.
LET, as it is known, is the armed wing of Pakistan-based religious extremists who aim to remove Indian troops from the disputed province of Kashmir. The Indian Government has expressed concerns it has a more ambitious agenda.
"Jemaah Islamiah's links with Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and Kashmir are particularly significant for our region," the paper says.
"There have been indications that Lashkar-e-Taiba is seeking to extend its operational reach into Southeast Asia and Australia from its traditional preoccupation with Kashmir. In 2003 a Jemaah Islamiah cell in Karachi, Pakistan, known as the Al Ghuruba cell, was disrupted. The cell was found to contain Southeast Asian university students (who) were being groomed as future Jemaah Islamiah leaders.
"Transnational terrorism is not a one-way flow ... international terrorist groups reach into Southeast Asia but groups from within our region reach out," it says.
The white paper also warns that the "numbers of Jemaah Islamiah members and supporters is likely to be growing".
"A steady flow of extremists is being produced by a small number of radical religious schools (throughout Southeast Asia) and through dedicated Jemaah Islamiah military training," the report says.
"And the high profile of Jemaah Islamiah's operations will help its efforts to inspire a new cohort of radicals to join the terrorist ranks," it says.
The report warns that Jemaah Islamiah is likely to persist with suicide bombings and truck-bomb attacks and will seek to extend its links into Thai and Burmese Muslim separatist groups.