Seraphim
09-22-2003, 12:50 PM
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030922/ap_on_re_as/pakistan_hambali_s_brother
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One of two Indonesians recently arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of Islamic militancy is a younger brother of alleged regional terror figure Hambali, who is now in US custody(AFP/File/Inoong )
By MUNIR AHMAD, Associated Press Writer
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The younger brother of Hambali, al-Qaida's suspected point man for Southeast Asia, has been arrested along with 16 other people suspected of terrorist activities, Pakistan's Interior Ministry said Monday.
The brother, Rusman Gunawan, was among 17 people from Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar arrested Saturday in raids on three Islamic schools in Karachi, ministry spokesman Iftikhar Ahmad told The Associated Press.
"Yes, the brother of Hambali is among the 13 Malaysian and two Indonesian students who were detained in Karachi," Ahmad said.
Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Massood Khan said the suspects were arrested on terrorism charges.
"These are suspected terrorists or have links with terrorists," he said. Officials say they had also overstayed their visas.
Hambali, whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin, was Southeast Asia's most wanted man until he was arrested Aug. 11 in Thailand by Thai police and the CIA (news - web sites). U.S. authorities then flew him to an undisclosed location. Hambali's Jemaah Islamiyah is blamed for last year's Bali nightclub bombings, which killed 202 people, and the Aug. 5 bombing of a hotel in Jakarta, in which 12 died.
An Indonesia-based terrorism expert said Gunawan was believed to be in charge of Jemaah Islamiyah's Pakistan branch. Gunawan is believed to have arranged trips for Hambali to Pakistan and Afghanistan (news - web sites), said the expert, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Many Indonesians only use their given names, so family members often don't share a surname.
Gunawan's capture was the latest in a series of arrests of suspected terrorists in Pakistan as President Gen. Pervez Musharraf prepares to address the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday about his country's role in fighting terrorism.
Musharraf, in an interview with The New York Times, said his country needs more helicopters and other assistance from the United States to fight al-Qaida and Taliban in the remote and rugged northwest region along the border with Afghanistan.
An Indonesian consular official in Karachi, Temu Alam, said his mission wanted access to Gunawan and the other Indonesian student "so we can prepare consular and legal advice if they need it," the Indonesian news agency Antara reported.
In the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, police said they also had no evidence of wrongdoing against Gunawan and would not seek his extradition, said Zainuri Lubis, a police spokesman.
Indonesia's SCTV reported Gunawan came to Pakistan in 1999 to study at Karachi's Abu Bakar University on a scholarship given by the Pakistani government. Before that, he sold vegetables at a village market.
Most of the other people arrested in Karachi were students who had overstayed their visas.
It was not clear what authorities planned to do with Gunawan, or whether he is wanted by the United States. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.
Terrorism suspects arrested in Pakistan include al-Qaida's alleged No. 3 leader, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who was captured during a raid near Islamabad in March. In September, 2002, a suspected planner of the Sept. 11 attacks, Ramzi Binalshibh, was captured after a gun battle in the southern city of Karachi. In March, 2002, Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s top lieutenant, Abu Zubaydah, was arrested in Faisalabad.
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EDITORS: AP reporters Lely T. Djuhari in Jakarta and Grant Peck in Bangkok contributed to this story.
http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20030922/capt.sge.hle72.220903085247.photo00.default-292x384.jpg
One of two Indonesians recently arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of Islamic militancy is a younger brother of alleged regional terror figure Hambali, who is now in US custody(AFP/File/Inoong )
By MUNIR AHMAD, Associated Press Writer
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The younger brother of Hambali, al-Qaida's suspected point man for Southeast Asia, has been arrested along with 16 other people suspected of terrorist activities, Pakistan's Interior Ministry said Monday.
The brother, Rusman Gunawan, was among 17 people from Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar arrested Saturday in raids on three Islamic schools in Karachi, ministry spokesman Iftikhar Ahmad told The Associated Press.
"Yes, the brother of Hambali is among the 13 Malaysian and two Indonesian students who were detained in Karachi," Ahmad said.
Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Massood Khan said the suspects were arrested on terrorism charges.
"These are suspected terrorists or have links with terrorists," he said. Officials say they had also overstayed their visas.
Hambali, whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin, was Southeast Asia's most wanted man until he was arrested Aug. 11 in Thailand by Thai police and the CIA (news - web sites). U.S. authorities then flew him to an undisclosed location. Hambali's Jemaah Islamiyah is blamed for last year's Bali nightclub bombings, which killed 202 people, and the Aug. 5 bombing of a hotel in Jakarta, in which 12 died.
An Indonesia-based terrorism expert said Gunawan was believed to be in charge of Jemaah Islamiyah's Pakistan branch. Gunawan is believed to have arranged trips for Hambali to Pakistan and Afghanistan (news - web sites), said the expert, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Many Indonesians only use their given names, so family members often don't share a surname.
Gunawan's capture was the latest in a series of arrests of suspected terrorists in Pakistan as President Gen. Pervez Musharraf prepares to address the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday about his country's role in fighting terrorism.
Musharraf, in an interview with The New York Times, said his country needs more helicopters and other assistance from the United States to fight al-Qaida and Taliban in the remote and rugged northwest region along the border with Afghanistan.
An Indonesian consular official in Karachi, Temu Alam, said his mission wanted access to Gunawan and the other Indonesian student "so we can prepare consular and legal advice if they need it," the Indonesian news agency Antara reported.
In the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, police said they also had no evidence of wrongdoing against Gunawan and would not seek his extradition, said Zainuri Lubis, a police spokesman.
Indonesia's SCTV reported Gunawan came to Pakistan in 1999 to study at Karachi's Abu Bakar University on a scholarship given by the Pakistani government. Before that, he sold vegetables at a village market.
Most of the other people arrested in Karachi were students who had overstayed their visas.
It was not clear what authorities planned to do with Gunawan, or whether he is wanted by the United States. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.
Terrorism suspects arrested in Pakistan include al-Qaida's alleged No. 3 leader, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who was captured during a raid near Islamabad in March. In September, 2002, a suspected planner of the Sept. 11 attacks, Ramzi Binalshibh, was captured after a gun battle in the southern city of Karachi. In March, 2002, Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s top lieutenant, Abu Zubaydah, was arrested in Faisalabad.
____
EDITORS: AP reporters Lely T. Djuhari in Jakarta and Grant Peck in Bangkok contributed to this story.