KUALA LUMPUR: A 51-year-old Indonesian suspected of being an Al-Qaeda affiliated militant is being investigated by the Indonesian police for his role in the republic's terrorists networks.
The Straits Times reported that Yudi Lukito Kurniawan, who allegedly attempted an attack on the Singapore stock exchange building in 2015, was arrested in Gorontalo in north Sulawesi on Aug 21.
"We are developing the case to see whether he is a key and crucial element in terror networks," a source who is close to the investigation told the Singaporean English daily yesterday (Sept 3).
A press statement statement from Indonesian police's counter-terrorism squad, Detachment 88 which was sent to The Straits Times on Monday (Sept 2) said Yudi was allegedly with the Yemeni branch of Al-Qaeda when the plan to target the SGX Centre in Shenton Way, Singapore was formulated.
"Yudi tried to enter Singapore in 2015 by sea but was rejected by the Singapore immigration and was deported to Batam," the statement said.
Yudi had remarried and moved around frequently to avoid detection, said a source.
He allegedly spent some time in Surabaya and Pasuruan in East Java, Gorontalo in Sulawesi and Batam, Indonesia.
He allegedly adopted aliases with initials IS, AT, MAL and AH, according to the statement.
The source told The Straits Times that the attempted attack in Singapore in 2015 was intended to be an indirect attack on the United States.
"They believe their distant enemy is the US and Singapore is a US ally that is (geographically) closest to Indonesia," the source was quoted as saying.
Yudi was a member of South-east Asia's terror network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) before he shifted affiliation in 2012 to Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), which was founded by terrorist ideologue Abu Bakar Bashir, 86.
The statement from Indonesian police's Detachment 88 said Yudi later shifted to another JI splinter group, Jamaah Ansharusy Syariah.
It said that while Yudi was with JAT, he was allegedly sent to Yemen as part of a global jihad movement paid by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
JI was responsible for Indonesia's largest terrorist attack during the Bali bombing which killed more than 200 people comprising mostly tourists in 2002.
The Straits Times said JI was heavily funded by Al-Qaeda, and that on June 30, its leaders in Indonesia had said that they had dissolved the organisation.
"The (latest) arrest is a warning to other JI members who choose not to disband themselves but instead join other terrorist groups. We will get them," the sources said.
Indonesian police are also looking into a passport bearing Yudi's name, which has a Yemeni government visa stamp; and a document which details the refusal his entry to Singapore in 2015 due to his ineligibilty under current immigration policies.