Posted on 03/21/2003 3:57:15 AM PST by Indy Pendance
KUALA LUMPUR - In a major breakthrough in the war on terrorism Malaysian police Thursday announced the discovery of a long-sought cache of bomb-making material destined for use against Western targets in Singapore.
Four tons of the explosive fertilizer ammonium nitrate, often used in truck bombs, was found buried in a palm oil estate after the arrest of a suspected member of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror group, a police spokesman told Agence France-Presse.
Rumors of the existence of the huge stockpile of the key bomb-making ingredient have circulated since security forces in neighboring Singapore foiled a plot to bomb western targets there more than a year ago.
The Singapore government announced in December 2001 that it had arrested 13 people and blocked a JI plan to attack targets including the embassies of the United States and other western countries. A further 18 people were detained later.
Malaysia is already holding more than 80 suspected Islamic militants, many of them allegedly members of JI, which aims to create a regional Islamic state in Southeast Asia.
The organization is blamed for the Bali bombing in Indonesia last October, which killed 202 people, mostly Western tourists.
Andrew Tan, a security analyst with Singapore's Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies, described the discovery of the ammonium nitrate as "good news indeed.
"Those four tons were intended for Singapore targets and were rumored to be either in Singapore or Indonesia.
"It's clearly a breakthrough, given that Hambali is still on the loose and we can expect JI is still planning attacks."
Hambali, a Muslim cleric whose real name is Ri duan Isamuddin, is a top JI leader and Southeast Asia's most wanted man. He is believed to have close links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network.
News of the discovery of the ammonium nitrate will also come as a relief to Western diplomats in the region, who have long worried about its whereabouts and who are bracing for new terror attacks after the launch of the US-led war against Iraq.
Both Indonesia and Malaysia have pledged extra security for Western expatriates in their countries in the face of an expected upsurge in terrorism in retaliation for the war on Iraq, despite the fact that they oppose the war.
Malaysia has repeatedly warned that an attack on Baghdad would inflame Islamic extremists and increase recruits to the ranks of terrorist organizations.
The breakthrough over the explosives came after the detention two weeks ago of Mohamad Amin Musa, 29, who worked on the plantation belonging to his father, police said.
The plantation is near Muar town in southern Johor state, which neighbors Singapore.
Mohamad Amin is reported to be a cousin of Taufik Abdul Halim, a Malaysian who is serving life imprisonment in Indonesia after being convicted of a series of bombings there.
Some 30 people are awaiting trial in Indonesia for the Bali bombings, and JI's alleged spiritual leader, Abu Bakar Bashir, is in detention accused of treason and of masterminding a series of bomb attacks two years ago.
Explosivija za Oklahomu?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.