24 January 2003
U.S. Designates Two as Terrorists Linked to Jemaah Islamiayah
(Group is regarded as having close ties to al-Qaeda, State says) (800)
The United States has designated and blocked the assets of two men
linked to the terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiayah, says State
Department spokesman Richard Boucher.
"The two are Nurjaman Riduan Ismuddin, commonly known as Hambali, and
Mohamad Iqbal Abdurrahman, commonly known as Abu Jibril. Both have
close ties to al-Qaeda," Boucher said January 24 in a prepared
statement.
Boucher said that Hambali is a senior leader of Jemaah Islamiyah. The
terrorist group has a long record of involvement in terrorist
activities, including the targeting of U.S. interests, he said.
Additionally, Boucher said, "information indicates that Hambali was
involved in a 1995 plot to bomb 11 U.S. commercial airliners in Asia
and directed the late 2001 foiled plot to attack U.S. and Western
interests in Singapore. Hambali is the head of the group's regional
'shura,' or policymaking body. He also is considered the group's
director of operations, oversees its financing, and serves as the
primary interface with al-Qaeda. He is suspected of being al-Qaeda's
operations director for the East Asia region."
Boucher said that Mohamad Iqbal Abdurrahman ("Abu Jibril") is a close
associate of Hambali, and was Jemaah Islamiayah's primary recruiter
and second in command. He ran the group's operations and headed its
regional "shura" -- before his arrest by Malaysian authorities in June
2001, according to multiple sources Boucher said.
Following is the text of Boucher's statement:
(begin text)
Press Statement
Richard Boucher, Spokesman
Washington, DC
January 24, 2003
Designation of Two Terrorists
The United States today designated and blocked the assets of two
individuals linked to the terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiayah
under U.S. Executive Order 13224.
The two are Nurjaman Riduan Ismuddin, commonly known as Hambali, and
Mohamad Iqbal Abdurrahman, commonly known as Abu Jibril. Both have
close ties to al-Qaeda.
The United States has asked that the U.N. 1267 Sanctions Committee
include these individuals on its consolidated list of
entities/individuals whose assets U.N. member states are obligated to
freeze pursuant to U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1267, 1390, and
1455 (which continues and improves the measures imposed by resolution
1390). We expect other countries, including Australia and Singapore,
to submit their own letters requesting that the U.N. 1267 Sanctions
Committee designate one or both of these individuals. The organization
Jemaah Islamiyah was designated by the United States under E.O. 13224
on October 23, 2002. The Government of Australia, along with the
United States and a number of other countries, requested that the
group be included on the U.N. 1267 Sanctions Committee s consolidated
list on the same date, and the Committee included Jemaah Islamiyah on
this list on October 25, 2002.
Nurjaman Riduan Ismuddin ("Hambali") is a senior leader of Jemaah
Islamiyah with close ties to al-Qaeda and a long track record of
involvement in terrorist activities, including the targeting of U.S.
interests. Information indicates that Hambali was involved in a 1995
plot to bomb 11 U.S. commercial airliners in Asia and directed the
late 2001 foiled plot to attack U.S. and Western interests in
Singapore. Hambali is the head of the group's regional "shura," or
policymaking body. He also is considered the group's director of
operations, oversees its financing, and serves as the primary
interface with al-Qaeda. He is suspected of being al-Qaeda's
operations director for the East Asia region.
Hambali arranged for a courier to take a surveillance videotape to
al-Qaeda in Afghanistan proposing a bomb attack on Americans in
Singapore and made arrangements for the group's members to train in
al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.
Hambali also was involved in planning a series of bombings in Manila
that killed 22 people and injured more than 100 on December 30, 2000.
One Jemaah Islamiyah member admitted to Philippine investigators that
Hambali was involved in the bombing of the residence of the Philippine
ambassador to Indonesia on August 1, 2000. The bombing killed two
people and seriously injured the ambassador. In addition, Hambali was
involved in a series of coordinated bombings of churches in Jakarta
and eight other cities on December 24, 2000, that killed 18 people and
injured many others. Indonesian police say they found documents
implicating Hambali in that bombing. Hambali is being sought by
governments throughout the region.
Mohamad Iqbal Abdurrahman ("Abu Jibril") is a close associate of
Hambali. He was Jemaah Islamiyah's primary recruiter and second in
command -- running the group's operations and heading its regional
"shura" -- before his arrest by Malaysian authorities in June 2001,
according to multiple sources. The International Crisis Group cites
Southeast Asian intelligence sources identifying Abdurrahman as a
financial conduit for al-Qaeda in the region.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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