Posted on 06/10/2003 10:30:09 AM PDT by knighthawk
THE alleged terrorist who police believe recruited the suicide bombers responsible for the deaths of 202 people in Bali last October is also thought to be a pivotal member of Abu Bakar Bashir's outlawed Jemaah Islamiah group.
Heri Hafidin, an Indonesian national, has a long association with three alleged senior regional terrorists whom he studied with in Malaysia.
They are Bali commander Imam Samudra, another JI figure detained in Malaysia, Zulkifli Marzuki, and a third man known as Faiz Bafana, who is thought to be the mastermind behind a plot to destroy Western targets in Singapore.
Hafidin was arrested on April 26, but his arrest was kept secret until Monday as police attempted to milk his knowledge of JI and its reach throughout southeast Asia.
He is believed to have offered several crucial insights into the shadowy structure of JI and its elusive membership.
Police are hopeful the information he has provided will lead them to the three at-large bomb-makers, Dr Azahari, Dulmatin and Idris.
Hafidin was a childhood friend of Imam Samudra and studied with him at the Lukmanil Hakim Islamic School in southern Malaysia.
It was there he met Bashir, Bafana and Marzuki. Bafana is the brother-in-law of Samudra, and the trio, including Hafidin, are believed to be especially close.
As well as recruiting the two suicide bombers, Feri and Arnasa, Hafidin is also alleged to have rented a house in the West Java city of Banten, in which Samudra hid during his six weeks on the run from the Bali investigators.
He is also alleged to have recruited three other suicide bombers, who were not required for the Bali operation.
Bali chief of detectives Colonel Boy Salamuddin confirmed yesterday that police had recently uncovered a lot about Jemaah Islamiah, but said it was premature to disclose what they had learned.
"Previously JI was just a name," Colonel Boy said. "It was an unstructured organisation. But from October 12 we have been processing information about their backgrounds.
"Afterwards, step by step, and when Ali Imron told us more detailed information, we have begun to see a more clear structure of this organisation."
Meanwhile, the rift that emerged last week between Ali Imron and his elder brother, Amrozi, appeared to have deepened after Ali Imron yesterday sacked the lawyers who also represent Amrozi and the other key suspects. Instead, he hired his former counsel, Suyanto.
Amrozi last week took Ali Imron to task when his younger sibling accused him of being a key participant in a planning meeting called to assign tasks for the Bali attacks.
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