Jakarta, Aug 15: Indonesia's foreign ministry today warmly welcomed the arrest in Thailand of top terror suspect Hambali but could not confirm he has already been sent to Indonesia. "I can't confirm that," said ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa, when asked to confirm comments from a security source in Thailand that Hambali and his wife were sent to Indonesia yesterday.
National police spokesman Zainuri Lubis also said he had no information.
The United States yesterday announced the capture of Hambali, who is an ally of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and the former operations chief of regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). Hambali and his wife were arrested on Tuesday in the Thai town of Ayuthaya and the pair was sent to Indonesia midday yesterday, a security source said.
The source did not specify whether Hambali was in the custody of US or Indonesian officials.
Hambali is the top suspect in last October's Bali nightclub bombings, which killed 202 people and are blamed on JI, and a string of other attacks in Indonesia. "We obviously welcome this arrest as an important step in the global fight against terror," Natalegawa said.
He said Indonesia's interest in Hambali is a "longstanding one", with an arrest warrant issued even before the Bali bombings.
Natalegawa said Jakarta would like to see Hambali stand trial in Indonesia eventually but noted that other countries have any interest in him. Bureau Report