Farouk Arnaz – The National Police and Aceh Police conducted raids and arrested more suspects who were allegedly involved with a terrorist network that held a military training camp in the Aceh Besar district during a joint operation on Tuesday, officers said at a press conference.
"The number of suspects now has risen to thirteen. They were originally from many parts of Indonesia, not only Aceh. One of them was a graduate from a (military academy) from abroad," National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said.
He refused to release their identities because police were still conducting further investigations. From the raids, he added, police confiscated three long barrel weapons and ammunition.
When asked about the possibility of the group being possibly related to Jemaah Islamiyah, Edward only said: "We will explain later about this network but I think by examining it yourself you might figure out who they might be."
When asked of the group had been preparing a bomb attack, he said that police were not yet ready to investigate that possibility.
On Sunday, police charged four men arrested in last week's operations in the Jantho region of Aceh Besar for terrorism-related activities, despite speculation that the suspects may be linked to the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and not regional terror organization Jemaah Islamiyah.
At least 10 men have been arrested over the past week for conducting paramilitary training activities in the Jantho region. Police said they were on the lookout for dozens more believed to be hiding in Aceh Besar.
Sources had earlier said those being hunted included an Afghan national, believed to be the instructor of the paramilitary training activities.
Al Chaidar, a terrorism analyst in North Aceh, told the Jakarta Globe that he still believed the armed group was linked to JI, most likely to the Banten faction.
"I suspect that Marzuki, an Acehnese living in Saree [a village in Aceh Besar], is involved in the camp," he said, referring to an Indonesian who attended a mujahideen training camp on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in 1986.
"Following the recent arrests, I have been unable to contact Marzuki," Al Chaidar said. "I fully believe that this armed group is not linked to either GAM or a splinter group, if there are any."