Foreign Policy Blogs

Jakarta Bombing Update II

noordintop-AP has published more on the Indonesia Hotel Bombing suspect, Malaysian born,  Noordin Mohammad Top.  The U.S. State Department believes he aided in financing the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings.  After becoming radicalized in an Islamic boarding school ran by the Indonesian Muslim cleric, Abdullah Sungkar, he underwent  training in the Southern Philippines and joined Jemaah Islamiyah in 1998.  Due to a crack down on Muslim radicals in Malaysia after 9-11, Noordin fled to Indonesia.  After splitting with Jemaah Islamiyah over the targeting of civilians, something the senior leadership no longer wanted to do, Noordin formed a more radical offshoot called Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad (a.k.a. – “al-Qaida for the Malay archipelago”).  He has avoided arrest in Indonesia at least six times, but was believed to have been effectively neutralized by a crippling attack by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Noordin’s support network – Obviously not.

Uncharacteristic of Jemaah Islamiyah, Noordin also threatened the West, which is likely reflective of his links to Al Qaeda:

“As long as you keep your troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and intimidate Muslim people, you will feel our intimidation and our terror,” a masked man believed to be Noordin said in the message aired on Indonesian television at the time. “You will be the target of our next attack.”