Indonesia uncovers plot against Westerners

JAKARTA – A group of suspected Muslim militants detained by Indonesia’s anti-terrorism unit after a cache of bombs was found in Sumatra were plotting to attack Western targets, a police source said yesterday.

The 10 were detained in Palembang, 425 km from the capital Jakarta, and other areas in South Sumatra, police said. The raids followed the capture of a suspected militant after a tip-off by authorities in Singapore, national police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira said.Heavily armed members of the anti-terrorism unit, Detachment 88, escorted blindfolded and shackled suspects on a transport plane to Jakarta for interrogation yesterday.”Nine suspects have been flown to Jakarta and are currently in the Mobile Brigade headquarters,” Nataprawira told a news conference.He said one suspect was still being questioned in Sumatra.He said that last Saturday an English teacher had been captured after an alert from Singapore that he was involved in the regional militant Islamic network Jemaah Islamiah (JI).He linked the man to Mas Selamat bin Kastari, a senior JI member who escaped from a Singapore prison in February.”I think they’ve got a couple of big fishes,” said Sidney Jones, a Jakarta-based analyst with the International Crisis Group.The 20 bombs found appeared to be more sophisticated than some used by militants previously in Indonesia, with 16 ready to use and some packed with ball bearings, a police source said.More explosives and other electronic devices had also been found in Sekayu, about 105 km from Palembang, a police source said.JI, which wants to create an Islamic caliphate in Southeast Asia, carried out a string of deadly attacks in recent years in Indonesia, including the 2002 nightclub bombings on the island of Bali, which killed more than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists.Nampa-ReutersThe raids followed the capture of a suspected militant after a tip-off by authorities in Singapore, national police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira said.Heavily armed members of the anti-terrorism unit, Detachment 88, escorted blindfolded and shackled suspects on a transport plane to Jakarta for interrogation yesterday.”Nine suspects have been flown to Jakarta and are currently in the Mobile Brigade headquarters,” Nataprawira told a news conference.He said one suspect was still being questioned in Sumatra.He said that last Saturday an English teacher had been captured after an alert from Singapore that he was involved in the regional militant Islamic network Jemaah Islamiah (JI).He linked the man to Mas Selamat bin Kastari, a senior JI member who escaped from a Singapore prison in February.”I think they’ve got a couple of big fishes,” said Sidney Jones, a Jakarta-based analyst with the International Crisis Group.The 20 bombs found appeared to be more sophisticated than some used by militants previously in Indonesia, with 16 ready to use and some packed with ball bearings, a police source said.More explosives and other electronic devices had also been found in Sekayu, about 105 km from Palembang, a police source said.JI, which wants to create an Islamic caliphate in Southeast Asia, carried out a string of deadly attacks in recent years in Indonesia, including the 2002 nightclub bombings on the island of Bali, which killed more than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists.Nampa-Reuters