Indonesia increasing focus of al-Qaida

JAKARTA, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Indonesia continues to grapple with indigenous offshoots of al-Qaida.

Senior police official Petrus Golose asserted at an international conference in Jakart on suicide bombings that al-Qaida has directly funded most major terrorist bombings in Indonesia.

Golose also told his audience that Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, arranged for a courier to deliver money to Indonesian Jemaah Islamiyah leaders. Golose said that the Jemaah Islamiyah funds were laundered through Thailand and Malaysia before arriving in Indonesia.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Golose added that about $30,000 was sent to carry out the Bali bombings in October 2002 and tens of thousands of dollars more were sent to carry out the bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta the following year, with surplus funds being used to attack the Australian embassy in 2004.

Golose cautioned his listeners that the capture of suspected Bali bombing mastermind Malaysian Jemaah Islamiyah militant Noordin Mohammad Top would not end terrorist attacks in Indonesia, saying, "People mention that if we catch Noordin, terrorism in Indonesia is finished -- no. It is still dangerous."