|
Militants trained in camp near
Jakarta
JAKARTA - Indonesian extremists and
Malaysian militants linked by Kuala Lumpur to the Al-Qaeda
terrorist network trained briefly in a makeshift camp near Jakarta
last year, police revealed yesterday.
The group, which consisted of about
a dozen Indonesian and Malaysian citizens, trained for several
weeks in a remote village in Banten province, 100 km west of
Jakarta, before police broke up the camp in June last year, said
National Police spokesman Lt-Colonel Prasetyohe.
'They were trained in how to make
bombs and in other military activities,' he said.
Lt-Col Prasetyo's statement is the
first confirmation from a senior police official that Islamic
militants have received training in Indonesia.
One of the Malaysians, identified
as an instructor named Syekh Saharani, belonged to the
Malaysian-based Muslim extremist group Kumpulan Militan Malaysia (KMM),
Lt-Col Prasetyo said.
He had been captured and was later
deported to Malaysia, he added.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad has said some KMM members detained in Malaysia had
admitted to being trained in Afghanistan by the Taleban militia
and Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network.
Top security minister Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono said authorities were looking out for similar
training activities. --AP
|
