Jakarta, June 30: The suspected deputy commander of a group of militants blamed for last year's Bali bombings has been arrested, a television news report said today. The suspect, Idris, was arrested two weeks ago in the city of Medan on Sumatra island, quoting national police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar. Idris, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, was detained with 12 other terror suspects, the report said. Prosecutors have accused Idris of being the deputy of Imam Samudra, the alleged mastermind of the Bali bombings. Samudra is on trial in Bali for the attack, which killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. Police declined to comment on the report. Officers said the top national police detective would hold a news conference later today, but did not say what he would talk about.

Idris has been on the run since the October 12 bombings. He tops the police's most-wanted list of suspects in the attack.

Prosecutors say Idris - who uses the aliases Joni Hendrawan and Gembrot - is a member of Jemaah Islamiyah, a regional al-Qaeda-linked Islamic group accused of carrying out the Bali attack.

Idris, 35, allegedly bought a getaway motorcycle one of the bombers was to have used. He also allegedly arranged financing for the attack and accommodation in Bali for the bombers.

He is believed to have studied in an Islamic school in Malaysia that was headed by Ali Gufron - one of three suspected Jemaah Islamiyah members on trial for the Bali attack.

Bureau Report