lennart
14-08-03, 21:19
The most wanted terror suspect in South-East Asia has been arrested, the White House has announced.
Hambali, the suspected leader of Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI), is wanted over a series of bomb attacks in the region over the last three years.
JI members have been linked to last year's Bali bombings and other attacks, and Hambali is alleged to have close ties with al-Qaeda.
Greeting the arrest of Hambali, whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin, US President George W Bush said the US would hunt down its enemies one by one.
"He's a known killer," he said in a speech to troops.
"Hambali was one of the world's most lethal terrorists... He is no longer a problem to those of us who love freedom."
The president added that "nearly two-thirds" of known key figures in al-Qaeda - the group accused of the 11 September terror attacks on America - had been either captured or killed.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan described the capture as an "important victory in the global war on terrorism and a significant blow to the enemy".
Al-Qaeda link
No details of how Hambali was arrested were immediately available.
A US official said he was captured in South-East Asia this week and was being interrogated in US custody at a secret location.
Only on Thursday, Indonesian police linked Hambali to the bombing of a US-run luxury hotel in Jakarta last week in which 10 people died.
Regional intelligence services believe that Hambali, aged about 40, actually has a seat on al-Qaeda's military committee - the only representative from South-East Asia.
He is accused of arranging a meeting for two of the 11 September hijackers with other al-Qaeda figures in Malaysia in January 2000.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3152263.stm
Hambali, the suspected leader of Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI), is wanted over a series of bomb attacks in the region over the last three years.
JI members have been linked to last year's Bali bombings and other attacks, and Hambali is alleged to have close ties with al-Qaeda.
Greeting the arrest of Hambali, whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin, US President George W Bush said the US would hunt down its enemies one by one.
"He's a known killer," he said in a speech to troops.
"Hambali was one of the world's most lethal terrorists... He is no longer a problem to those of us who love freedom."
The president added that "nearly two-thirds" of known key figures in al-Qaeda - the group accused of the 11 September terror attacks on America - had been either captured or killed.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan described the capture as an "important victory in the global war on terrorism and a significant blow to the enemy".
Al-Qaeda link
No details of how Hambali was arrested were immediately available.
A US official said he was captured in South-East Asia this week and was being interrogated in US custody at a secret location.
Only on Thursday, Indonesian police linked Hambali to the bombing of a US-run luxury hotel in Jakarta last week in which 10 people died.
Regional intelligence services believe that Hambali, aged about 40, actually has a seat on al-Qaeda's military committee - the only representative from South-East Asia.
He is accused of arranging a meeting for two of the 11 September hijackers with other al-Qaeda figures in Malaysia in January 2000.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3152263.stm