Washington, Aug 16: Jemaah Islamiah, a southeast Asian Terrorist Organisation linked to al Qaeda, has formed a special group of suicide bombers called Laskar Khos, capable of carrying out assassinations and bombings, including suicide bombings, media reports said today. The group, initially reported directly to Abubakar Bassyir, the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah who was arrested last fall, bypassing the command structure of individual cells across southeast Asia, the Washington Post reported from Jakarta quoting analysts. "There were at least a dozen suicide bombers recruited, and perhaps several dozen," Sidney Jones, Indonesia program Director of International Crisis group, a research and advocacy organization told the paper. She said another Jemaah Islamiah leader, Zulkarnain, who is sought in connection with the Bali bombings, led the special force.
The group, also called unit Khos, emerged as early as 2000 in Poso, on the Island of Sulawesi, one of two major zones of conflict between Indonesia's Muslims and Christians, according to Mahendradatta, a lawyer defending Islamic militants.
Jemaah Islamiah was created about a decade ago and now includes 300 to 400 trained militants and a core of senior operatives who have worked with one another for years, the paper said. Bureau Report