Suspect in the 2002 Bali bombings has been arrested in Pakistan. The said suspect was a Senior Indonesian Al-Qaida operative, this rare capture of a high profile criminal could be a great help in providing valuable intelligence about the regional terrorist networks and possible future plots.
The suspect Omar Patek was captured early this year in Pakistan. He is said to be a member of Jemaah Islamiyah with ties to militant groups in the southern Philippines, its neighboring countries and beyond.
Report says that Patek travelled from Sulu, Philippines, which made a big issue on how a high profile terrorist could easily move around.
Lt. Gen Juancho Sabban, head of the Armed-forces of the Philippines said that such reports only prove that Mindanao is not a safe place for foreign terrorist.
Two Intelligence Officials in Indonesia and Philippines has given the news of the Patek’s arrest last Tuesday, and both spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the information.
According to Lt. Col Arnulfo Burgos, Philippine military spokesperson, similar reports have been received coming from the government of Pakistan.
To make sure that they caught the right man, Indonesian government sent their top police detective, Lt. Gen. Ito Sumardi.
As of now, there is no official statement from Pakistan whether the caught of Patek was a result of an intelligence tip.
Patek’s purpose of going to Pakistan also remain unclear, which made lot of speculations whether he was there to plan an attack with Al-Qaida as the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 bombing attack in United States is coming soon.
Patek, known as ‘Little Arad” is said to be the group’s deputy field commander in the Bali nightclub bombings that left 202 people dead, and most of them are foreigners. He was 40 years old and a Javanese Arabic man.
Government of United States also offered reward money for the arrest of Patek, after seven American Citizens died in Bali Bombing.