Indonesian national captured in south Thailand

By Kenneth Conboy

Thai police arrested Indonesian national Sabri Amiruddin, 31, on 16 June during a massive crackdown following the 15 June wave of bombings in south Thailand. He was arrested in Narathiwat province with a kilo of urea fertilizer and two kilos of nails in his possession. Sabri hails from the Indonesian island of Sumatra, though it was not yet known if he was associated with separatists in Aceh (also on Sumatra).

It should be noted that there has long been a nexus between southern Thai extremists and Aceh separatists. Firearms with Thai military stamps have been recovered in Aceh; in addition, high explosives obtained after Thai radicals raided government arsenals in 2003 made their way to Sumatra. In 2004, there were allegations that Indonesian jihadists were in south Thailand, though these charges were never confirmed (and Indonesian authorities claim were unfounded). It remains to be seen if Sabri was a singleton or part of a larger group of Indonesian nationals in Thailand's restive south.

In other Indonesian news, the Indonesian government has slapped a travel ban on freed militant cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir. This comes after Jakarta received considerable international criticism, especially from the U.S. and Australia, for allowing Ba'asyir's release.

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