JAKARTA, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Indonesian police have sent investigators to several countries to try to link the alleged spiritual leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah group with a series of bombings in the country, including the Bali blasts last October.
National police chief Gen. Dai Bachtiar said the teams had been dispatched to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, to gather information in particular about the role of Abu Bakar Baasyir in the bombings.
"We are gathering all information, including from Malaysia and other (countries)," Bachtiar said. "We also pursuing our investigation into Baasyir's role in the bombings."
Bachtiar said police were looking for information on an alleged meeting last February in Bangkok, Thailand, to discuss the bombings, including the Oct. 12 Bali blasts in which nearly 200 people were killed. Police have said JI was responsible for the attack.
The Bangkok meeting, which allegedly took place last February, was attended by Hambali, also known as Riduan Isamuddin, Imam Samudra, Ali Gufron alias Muklas and Baasyir. Gufron, who was arrested earlier this month, told investigators about the Bangkok meeting during interrogation. Police believe that Gufron, the elder brother of another Bali bombing suspect Amrozi, is the operations chief of JI, a post previously held by Hambali.
Baasyir was arrested in October for his alleged role in a series of church bombings in 2000 and for involvement in an assassination plot against President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Investigators have not linked the 64-year-old Muslim cleric with the Bali bombings. Baasyir has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Also Monday, Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said terrorism poses a "very grave threat" to Southeast Asia, adding that members of JI regional terror network are still at large.
"We discussed measures to root out the terror infrastructure in this part of the world," Goh said after a meeting with Megawati.
"We are aware that JI is the Southeast Asia link of al Qaida," he said.
