Police In Indonesia Arrest Al-Qaida-Linked Terrorist Suspected Of Being Behind Bombings That Killed Over 200

A senior member of a militant organization with ties to al-Qaida was arrested on Thursday in connection with a bombing at a resort in Bali that killed over 200 people, according to Indonesian police, CNN reported.

Zulkarnaen, also known as Aris Sumarsono, was a Jemaah Islamiah commander during the attack in Bali, was arrested without incident by anti-terrorism officials, spokesperson Ahmad Ramadhan said Saturday, CNN reported. Jemaah Islamiah is an Islamic extremist group that strives to create an Islamic caliphate across Southeast Asia, according to Stanford.

Zulkarnaen is suspected of helping create the bombs used in the Bali attack and the incident that killed 12 at a JW Marriott hotel in Bali’s capital of Jakarta in 2003, CNN reported.

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Zulkarnaen’s arrest could “spur them [Jemaah Islamiah] into action to prove their existence or seek revenge,” Security Analyst Stanislaus Riyanta said, CNN reported. It’s possible that Zulkarnaen’s arrest might weaken the group’s operations.

Jemaah Islamiah’s last known bombing killed nine people and wounded 50 at a JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton in Jakarta on July 17, 2009, according to Stanford. The group first appeared in the 1990s, though its first known bombings targeted Christian churches killing 14 on Christmas Eve in 2000.

Former leader of Jemaah Islamiah, Para Wijayanto, was arrested in 2019, CNN reported.