CANBERRA, Australia, June 11 (UPI) -- Australia is investigating reports that the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group has sent death squads to target Australians and Western diplomats in Indonesia.
British and Australian intelligence services reportedly have information that the Southeast Asian al-Qaida-linked terror group could be changing its tactics from bombings to targeting Westerners for assassination. Reports said militants had entered Indonesia from the Philippines in recent weeks.
"We know that JI targets Australia and Australians and we take every precaution, (including) cooperation with the Indonesian police and army," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said during a visit to the new Southeast Asian Regional Center for Counter-Terrorism in Malaysia on Friday, The Australian reported.
The center was set up to advance regional cooperation against terrorism, and the foreign minister's visit is seen as a step toward improved relations between Australia and its neighbors.
Relations were strained after Prime Minister John Howard said in December 2002 that he would order a pre-emptive strike against a neighboring country if it harbored terrorists planning an attack against Australia. The statement angered Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.
