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Indonesia Steps Up Terrorist Manhunt in Aceh
Nurdin Hasan & Putri Prameshwari | March 08, 2010

Police officers carry a colleague wounded in a raid on a suspected terrorist hideout as a part of Indonesian National Police crack down in Aceh Besar, Aceh province, on Thursday. (AP Photo/Heri Juanda) Police officers carry a colleague wounded in a raid on a suspected terrorist hideout as a part of Indonesian National Police crack down in Aceh Besar, Aceh province, on Thursday. (AP Photo/Heri Juanda)
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No closer to determining whether dozens of armed militants on the run in Aceh are somehow associated with Al Qaeda, the National Police said on Sunday they were taking no chances, adding more security forces to a provincewide manhunt that saw five people killed over the weekend.

Hundreds of officers from the National Police’s elite Mobile Brigade (Brimob) and Densus 88 counterterrorism squad blocked exit routes in the Seulawah Valley in Aceh Besar district on Sunday, trying to isolate the suspected militants. Police have been tracking the group since four of its members were arrested on Feb. 22.

“We are investigating this matter very seriously and looking into every possibility,” National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said.

He was speaking shortly after a group calling itself “Tandzim Al-Qoidah Indonesia Serambi Mekkah” claimed on a Web site that the armed men were affiliated with Al Qaeda.

Edward said the Web site’s veracity was being investigated, as it could have “been created by irresponsible people who want to mislead the investigation.”

Police have arrested 14 suspected militants and killed one other in Aceh Besar. Two civilians have been killed in the cross-fire. Early speculation that the armed group might be stragglers from the now-defunct Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has been discounted as most of the militants appear to be from outside the province.

On Saturday, police searching for militants found five bodies, including those of three police officers. The officers were identified as First Brig. Boas Woysiri, 35, a bomb and tactical specialist from Densus 88; Second Brig. Srihandri Kusumo Malau, 25; and Second Brig. Darmansyah, 25, both from Brimob. The two remaining unidentified bodies are believed to be militants.

Terrorism analyst Noor Huda Ismail said on Sunday that any militant group could be related to Al Qaeda, at least ideologically.

“These militants are ‘avatars’ [of their struggle],” he said. “They are likely to feel that they are part of Al Qaeda.”

Police on Sunday also released more information about the suspected militant who was shot dead on Wednesday. The man, Abdullah Ismail, 30, was initially believed to be from Subang, West Java.

However, upon further investigation, police learned Abdullah was a resident of Lamtamot village in Aceh Besar. Police seized an AK-47 rifle and hundreds of bullets from the suspect’s bag.

Abdullah had been traveling with two other men on a bus from the Seulawah region of Aceh Besar when it was stopped by police at about 1 a.m. Abdullah was shot dead but his companions men managed to escape, one of whom was arrested two days later during a police raid in Tamiang district.

Police said the suspect originally came from Banten.