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Indonesia Muslim preacher detained under terror law

13 February 2006, POSO - Indonesian police have detained a Muslim preacher in the restive eastern town of Poso as part of a nationwide hunt for one of Southeast Asia's most wanted Islamic militants, police said on Monday. Police in the province of Central Sulawesi said authorities detained the preacher because of his suspected links to Malaysian Noordin M.Top, who is accused of playing a key role in a spate of bombings in Indonesia.

"A Muslim religious teacher was detained in Poso last Thursday," Central Sulawesi police spokesman Rais Adam said, without giving details on the preacher's suspected links to Top. A police official in Jakarta said the man had been detained under the country's anti-terrorism laws. Top is blamed for helping mastermind a series of bombings in Indonesia, including suicide attacks on three restaurants on the resort island of Bali last October that killed 20 people and attacks in Bali three years earlier that left 202 people dead.

Police said last month that Top, already identified as a senior player in Southeast Asian militant network Jemaah Islamiah, had proclaimed himself leader of a group called Tanzim Qaedat al-Jihad, or Organisation for the Basis of Jihad. Jemaah Islamiah is considered a regional arm of al Qaeda, and police said the new group might also have an al Qaeda link. Police say Top is an expert in recruiting young suicide bombers among Indonesia's impoverished masses and believe he is still in the country.

Poso was the scene of religious fighting several years ago that killed around 2,000 people before a peace accord took effect. There have been sporadic outbreaks of violence and bombings since in the region.