Indonesian terrorist targets Australian embassy: media

14:43, 10 August 2010

CANBERRA. August 10. KAZINFORM The Australian embassy was among a number of foreign missions in Jakarta of Indonesia considered a target by a terrorist cell allegedly led by Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, the head of Indonesia's leading counter-terrorism agency told Australia's media on Tuesday, Kazinform refers to Xinhua.

According to Sydney Morning Herald, asked if the Australian diplomatic mission was among the "two or more" unnamed foreign embassies identified as potential targets by police on Monday, Inspector General Ansyaad Mbai, the head of Indonesia's counter- terrorism agency, said "yes".

Mbai on Tuesday identified the U.S. embassy as another target, identifying it as a "favorite" for violent extremists.

The information that the Australian mission was on the cell's hit list was "not only based on testimonies but other evidence as well", Ansyaad added, quoted by the Herald.

The Australian embassy was hit by a car bomb in 2004, which killed 11 people, including the suicide bomber, and injured scores of others.

Police arrested Bashir on Monday, alleging he oversaw and arranged funding for an Aceh-based terrorist group.

According to Indonesian media reports, Bashir denied all allegations but refuses to cooperate, saying: "It is haram ( forbidden in Islam) to answer questions from the Western and Israeli puppets", Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.com

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