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Bali suspect's wife held
17/08/2003 08:12 - (SA)
Kuala Lumpur - The Malaysian wife of top terror suspect Hambali has been handed over to police here by Thai authorities for questioning, a top security official said Sunday.
Noralwizah Lee Abdullah, 33, was arrested together with Hambali in Thailand on Monday.
She was flown into the Kuala Lumpur International Airport late Saturday escorted by Thai and Malaysian police, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Malaysian police would be seeking information from Hambali's wife about his activities as a top leader in the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror group, he said.
"We hope to get bits and pieces of information to tie up loose ends and perhaps confirm intelligence obtained earlier," the security official said.
"She might be able to identify those who are involved with Hambali, their meeting places. This would help with further arrests," he said.
A report in the Sunday Star quoting unnamed sources said Noralwizah had been flown into the country escorted by Thai and Malaysian police.
Malaysian police chief Norian Mai was quoted as saying, "we requested for her to be handed over to us so that she can assist us in our investigations."
However, the report did not say where she was being detained.
Malaysian police played a part in Hambali's capture, attributing the success to exchanges of intelligence between Malaysia "and neighbouring countries," the official Bernama news agency said Friday.
"Intelligence agencies from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore are now working together to ensure security," Norian had said.
Meanwhile, Bernama quoted Malaysian defence minister Najib Razak as saying, "we cannot rule out the possibility that other cells might exist in the region, and that is why we need to be on guard at all times.
"Let's not think that the arrest of Hambali has solved the problem."
Hambali, born Riduan Isamuddin in Indonesia in 1966, arrived in Malaysia in 1985 before leaving to fight in the anti-Soviet campaign in Afghanistan from 1987 until 1991.
He returned, married and settled in the quiet village of Sungai Manggis about an hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur.
There, inspired by what he had learned from Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda in Afghanistan, he allegedly built JI into a terror network with fellow villager and Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.
Bashir is on trial in Jakarta for plotting to overthrow the government and to set up an Islamic state, while Hambali has been on the run for years.
Hambali is wanted in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines in connection with a series of bomb attacks as well as in Indonesia for attacks including the Bali bombings in October last year and the recent attack on the Marriott hotel in Jakarta.
- AFP
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