Jemaah Islamiyah leader Abu Dujana Captured

By Kenneth Conboy

This past Saturday, Indonesian police counter-terrorist units made several arrests across Central Java. After five days of conflicting press statements, on Wednesday afternoon the authorities finally confirmed that one of the suspects, initially known as Yusron, was in fact Abu Dujana, the alleged leader of JI. This confirmation came after a check of fingerprints and corroboration from other detained terrorists.

Dujana was arrested in the town of Banyumas. He had been using no less than six aliases.

Seven other suspects were also detained, though the police would not give their names or where they were arrested.

The capture of Dujana is a major milestone in Indonesia's counter-terrorist campaign. While not known to have been deeply involved in planning past terrorist strikes, he held a key symbolic position and has long been instrumental in recruitment. Moreover, it is likely that he has current information on the whereabouts of other top JI fugitives on Java, including military chieftain Zulkarnaen.

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