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Indonesia holds extremist leader Indonesia holds extremist leader
(about 2 hours later)
Police in Indonesia say they have arrested the alleged leader of Jemaah Islamiah, the extremist Islamic group blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings. Police in Indonesia say they have arrested the alleged military leader of Jemaah Islamiah, the extremist group blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings.
A police spokesman said Abu Dujana, Indonesia's most wanted Islamic militant, was arrested on Saturday on the country's main island of Java. Abu Dujana, Indonesia's most wanted Islamic militant, was arrested on Saturday on the island of Java.
Seven other suspected militants were arrested with him.Seven other suspected militants were arrested with him.
Jemaah Islamiah is also accused of carrying out other attacks, including bombing the Australian embassy in 2004. Analysts say the arrest is a major victory for Indonesian security forces in their fight against Islamic militants.
Abu Dujana had been sought in connection that attack in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and a car bombing at the Marriot hotel in the city a year earlier. As well as the Bali bombings of 2002, Jemaah Islamiah (JI) is accused of carrying out a string of other crimes, including an attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta in 2004 as well as a car bombing at the city's Marriot hotel a year earlier.
"After interrogating all suspects we know that Abu Dujana alias Yusron Mahmudi is the chief of the military wing of JI," said National Police spokesman Sisno Adiwinoto at a press conference. Abu Dujana was wanted in connection with both of those attacks, police say.
The arrests were made at a house in central Java on Saturday Significant capture
He said 37-year-old Abu Dujana had a number of aliases, but his identity was confirmed by finger-printing and DNA tests. The arrests were made at a house in central Java on Saturday, although police did not confirm that 38-year-old Abu Dujana was among those detained until early on Wednesday.
He is believed to have been involved in collecting weapons and explosives for Jemaah Islamiah, police have said. They say he operated under so many different aliases that it took several days to determine his identity, which was finally confirmed by fingerprinting and DNA tests.
In March raids, police said they found weapons, explosives and chemicals that could be used to make a bomb bigger than the that used in Bali. The arrests were made at a house in central Java on SaturdayDeputy police chief Makbul Padmanegara recently told reporters that Abu Dujana had replaced Noordin M Top, a Malaysian national considered a mastermind behind a series of bomb attacks in the country, as Indonesia's most wanted fugitive.
The bombings there, on 12 October 2002, killed 202 people - most of them foreign tourists. Now he is in custody, he will face a long list of questions about different attacks in Bali, Jakarta and the island of Sulawesi.
The two bombs ripped through a busy nightclub area in Bali's popular Kuta district, killing citizens from 21 countries. Police also want to question him about a series of attacks they say were being planned on an undisclosed location.
Australia suffered the greatest number of casualties, with 88 nationals losing their lives. Earlier this year security forces found a large cache of bombs and bomb-making materials - enough, they say, to make an explosion four times as powerful as that used in any previous attack.
Thirty-eight Indonesians, 26 Britons, nine Swedes, seven Americans, six Germans and four Dutch nationals were also killed. Analysts say Abu Dujana has key information about logistics and operations within JI, and his arrest will be a serious blow to the organisation.
"With this arrest we have successfully stopped acts of terrorism in the future," said police spokesman Sisno Adiwinoto. "He was a key figure in the terrorist network in Indonesia."
Leading Jemaah Islamiah analyst Sidney Jones also agreed that the arrest was "a major triumph for police".
"If he is willing to talk he will be able to tell the police about the structure, the strength, the finances and the international connection and the goal and objectives of JI," she told reporters.
Shadowy figure
Exact information about Abu Dujana is difficult to obtain, but police believe he had military training in Afghanistan in 1989, where he later fought with the mujahideen.
Like many senior members of JI, he is thought to have fled to Malaysia in the 1990s to avoid a crackdown by the former dictator Suharto.
Analysts say he probably became the military head of JI about four years ago.