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November 9, 2005
Indonesia: Islamist Military Camp Found in Jungle
According to Canoe News, anti-terrorism officers found an abandoned terror camp in Malaku province, offficials said earlier today.
Malaku province includes the Moluccas, islands which had seen violent uprisings and fighting between Muslims and Christians from 1999 to 2002, which killed 9000 people, with 1000 killed in extensions of this conflict in neighbouring Sulawesi. The camp showed evidence that bomb-making skills had been taught to scores of extremists.
The camp had been in operation for several years and, according to authorities, it had attendees from across Indonesia.
The camp had been discovered earlier this month, on the island of Seram, after a tip-off from recently-apprehended Islamists, stated Colonel Leonidas Braksan. White marker flags for military exercises had been found, and several huts. Villagers had heard gunfire and occasional explosions coming from the camp vicinity.
He said that the camp trainers taught the tactics of war, which included weapons use and bomb manufacture, according to captured "graduates" of the camp. The instructors were veterans of terrorist camps from Afghanistan and the Philippines. He said the camp was isolated and almost inaccessible.
According to Major General Ansyaad Mbai, an Indonesian anti-terrorism expert, it is believed that a militant who is wanted for the killing of five paramilitary police officers in Malaku, which happened in May, was the leader of the Seram training camp. Mbai said there was a likelihood of other camps in the region, which may not be of a permanent nature.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at November 9, 2005 4:08 PM
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