An Indonesian Islamic cleric accused of being the spiritual leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group has denied links with a group of militant suspects arrested in raids this month, reports said Sunday.
Local media reports alleged that several suspects detained this month in connection with the discovery in February of a militant training camp in Aceh province were linked to Abu Bakar Bashir’s Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid group.
The suspects were reportedly arrested on May 6 in an antiterrorist operation on a building in South Jakarta that served as a base for Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT), a group Bashir founded in 2008.
But Bashir told the Indopos newspaper that there was no such link.
“I’ve been framed. I didn’t know and wasn’t involved in any movement or training in Aceh,” the paper quoted Bashir as saying.
“In terms of organization and activities, JAT is different from the terrorist group in Aceh. Despite this, JAT is still being linked to terrorist movements,” he added.
Police had indicated the suspects could be linked to Jemaah Islamiyah.
The discovery of the Aceh camp in February triggered a series of anti-terror operations nationwide.
National police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri on Friday said 58 terror suspects had been arrested and 13 people killed in the raids over the past three months.
Jemaah Islamiyah and related militant groups want to unite much of Southeast Asia under an Islamic caliphate, and believe they must kill Westerners to defend Muslims from oppression.
Bashir was jailed for links with Jemaah Islamiyah but was subsequently acquitted and released. (dar)
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