Military

DATE=1/24/02

TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT

TITLE=WORLD TERRORISM ROUNDUP

NUMBER=5-50937

BYLINE=DAN ROBINSON

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

INTERNET=

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: New information from Singapore on suspected al-Qaida terrorist connections, continuing investigations in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, and developments in Yemen. These and other news from the war against terrorism in this report by V-O-A's Dan Robinson:

TEXT: Across Southeast Asia, authorities are uncovering new information about the extent of Osama bin-Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network. In Singapore, the government says it found new evidence of a clear link between al-Qaida and 13 members of a militant Islamic group (Jemaah Islamiyah).

Part of the new evidence was a videotape found in the home of one of the 13 suspects being held in a Singaporean jail. The tape was similar to one found in the rubble of an al-Qaida house in Afghanistan and given to Singapore in December. Both tapes showed a Singapore subway station that may have been a potential target for a terrorist attack.

In a television interview (Channel News Asia), Singapore's home affairs Minister (Wong Kan Seng) said the city-state's police and intelligence services are working closely with their foreign counterparts. A government statement said authorities would not hesitate to take strong and pre-emptive action against anyone threatening the security of the city-state.

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In Malaysia, police announced that 23 alleged Muslim militants have been arrested since December. Among the group were 16 Malaysians, four Indonesians, and three Singaporeans belonging to a cell within a group called the Muslim Militant Group (K-M-M). Malaysian authorities say the group had plans to overthrow the government. Nineteen of the 23 being held received military or terrorist training in Afghanistan and the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. Malaysia's Inspector-General of Police (Norian Mai) said K-M-M and (the militant Islamic group) Jemaah Islamiyah in Singapore were likely part of a larger al-Qaida network in Southeast Asia. And he said the Malaysian group received ideological training from three Indonesian clerics who held permanent resident status in Malaysia. The 23 are being held under Malaysia's Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial.

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Acting on information from Malaysia and Singapore, authorities in Indonesia questioned a Muslim cleric, Abu Baku Bashir. Mr. Bashir was one of the three individuals Malaysian authorities said provided religious and militant indoctrination to the groups operating in Malaysia and Singapore. Questioned by Indonesian police, the 64-year-old Mr. Bashir denied links to al-Qaida, but issued a statement praising Osama bin-Laden and condemning U-S military action in Afghanistan. U-S officials say five suspected members of the al-Qaida terrorist network planned to blow up the U-S Embassy in Jakarta.

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In the Philippines, meanwhile, attention continued to be focused on an Indonesian man described as an explosives expert linked to al-Qaida. Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi was arrested on January 15th after a tip off from Singaporean authorities, who said he was a member of the Singapore militant group. Philippine police seized a cache of explosives and weapons after the arrest. Diplomats in the region expressed concern that this could be a sign that groups linked to al-Qaida were engaged in a pattern of cross-border terrorism aimed at destabilizing Southeast Asian governments.

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Authorities in Yemen are reported to be asking the United States for permission to send a team of investigators to Afghanistan to question Yemenis being held among al-Qaida suspects. The United States and Yemen have stepped up cooperation in the investigation of the bombing of the American naval vessel U-S-S Cole in 2000. Yemeni authorities (quoted by the weekly newspaper "September 26") believe they will obtain valuable information from nationals being held in Afghanistan. At least 17 Yemenis are being held at the detention center at the U-S naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

NEB/DAR/FC