A top U.S. security official says
there's evidence that Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda militant network
had established a base in Indonesia, the world's most populous
Muslim nation.
Paul Fujimura, the U.S. State Department's counter-terrorism
officer for East Asia and the Pacific, says the network is
creating new bases after fleeing Afghanistan during a U.S.-led
assault to retaliate for the September 11 terror attacks on
America.
He says the fragmented geography of Indonesia and the presence of
some terrorist sympathisers is ideal for al Qaeda militants.
The statement came after the State Department released its annual
global terrorism report on Tuesday, cautioning the battle against
al Qaeda is far from over.
Indonesian officials generally deny there is proof of a current al
Qaeda presence in the archipelago.
23/05/2002
21:54:19 | ABC Radio Australia News
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