[Kabar-indonesia] JI targeted Philippines for supporting US: bomb-suspect's wife

[Joyo at aol.com]

also: Philippine police seek custody of bombing suspect arrested in Indonesia

JI targeted Philippines for supporting US: bomb-suspect's wife

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines, October 7 (AFP) -- The arrested wife of
alleged Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) bomb expert Dulmatin told interrogators
the group had targeted the Philippines for its support of the US "war
on terror," a military spokesman said Saturday.

"She admitted they are staying here in the Philippines because it is a
target for being the first one who supported the call of the United
States following the September 11 (2001) attacks," said Major Eugene
Batara.

The military was still interrogating Dulmatin's wife, Istiada H. Oemar
Sovie, an Indonesian national, following her arrest on the remote
southern Philippine island of Jolo on October 3, Batara added.

She had also revealed that her husband Dulmatin and another JI bomb
expert, Umar Patek, were still hiding on Jolo, protected by the Abu
Sayyaf, a local Muslim extremist group which is also linked to the
Al-Qaeda terror network.

Dulmatin and fellow Indonesian Patek have been linked to the October
2002 nightclub bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali which
killed more than 200 people, mostly Australian tourists.

The woman, also known as Amenah Toha, said she was not a member of JI
but admitted acting as a courier for the group, Batara added.

She was being held on immigration charges for entering the Philippines
illegally sometime in 2003.

Dulmatin and Patek, who have bounties totalling 11 million dollars on
their heads by the US government, are the subjects of a massive
military operation involving 5,000 Filipino troops backed by US
intelligence personnel.

The Philippines was one of the first Asian nations to declare support
for the US-led "war on terror" after the September 11 attacks and the
United States has been providing training and assistance in hunting
down Abu Sayyaf militants in this country.

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Philippine police seek custody of bombing suspect arrested in Indonesia

By JIM GOMEZ, Associated Press Writer

MANILA, October 7 (AP) -- Philippine police said Saturday they are
arranging to take custody of a suspected Muslim militant arrested
recently in Indonesia so he can be tried for allegedly helping plot a
deadly bombing in the southern Philippines.

An exchange of information between Indonesian and Philippine
intelligence officers led to the arrest of suspected al-Qaida-linked
militant Elmer Abram in North Sulawesi Province, Philippine police
Chief Superintendent German Doria said.

It was not immediately clear whether Abram is a Filipino or an Indonesian.

In Indonesia, provincial police spokesman Lt. Col. Benny Bela
confirmed that a man identified as Elmer Abram was arrested by a
special anti-terror unit shortly after landing in Sam Ratulangi
airport in North Sulawesi's provincial capital of Manado.

"That was a secret operation, I cannot give you more details on that," he 
said.

Arrangements were being made so Abram can be returned to the
Philippines to face multiple murder charges, Doria said.

He said Abram has been charged for his alleged role in a Feb. 14 bomb
attack that killed three people outside a mall in the southern port
city of General Santos last year.

It was one of three nearly simultaneous blasts, dubbed the
"Valentine's Day bombings," which killed eight people, including four
in a bus explosion in Manila's financial district of Makati and
another at a bus terminal in southern Davao city.

Philippine security officials believe the bomb attacks were jointly
plotted by local Abu Sayyaf guerrillas and the regional
Indonesian-based militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, which are both
linked to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network and accused of launching
some of Asia's most lethal terrorist strikes.

A Philippine group of Christian converts to Islam, the Rajah Solaiman
Revolutionary Movement, is suspected of providing help to Manila-based
operatives to carry out the attacks, police officials have said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government on Saturday welcomed news of the arrest
by Philippine troops of an Indonesian woman believed to be the wife of
suspected Jemaah Islamiyah bomb expert Dulmatin, who is believed to be
hiding on southern Jolo island with Abu Sayyaf guerrillas and other
Indonesian militants.

The wife of Dulmatin, who goes by one name, was captured early Tuesday
in the mountainous town of Patikul in Jolo, where a U.S.-backed
offensive has targeted him and other al-Qaida-linked militants since
Aug. 1, officials said.

Dulmatin and another Indonesian militant, Umar Patek, are suspected of
helping plot the 2002 nightclub bombings in Bali, Indonesia that
killed 202 people.

"We're encouraged by this," U.S. Embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop
said of the arrest. "The Philippines and the U.S. are strong partners
in this fight against terrorism," he said.

The Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah are on Washington's list of
terrorist organizations.

Local military officials say about 60,000 U.S.-backed troops have been
hunting militants of both groups in the vast mountain rainforest of
Jolo.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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