Mastermind of Bali Attacks Suspected in Jakarta Blasts

(NEWSER) - Today's terror attack in Jakarta appears to be the work of a group Indonesia thought it had put out of business years ago, experts tell ABC News. The twin attacks on luxury hotels that killed 8 people and injured at least 50 are being blamed on Jemayah Islamiyah, a group linked to al-Qaeda that carried out deadly bombings in Bali in 2002 and 2005. More»

This time, it's really him—they have fingerprints to prove it

(NEWSER) - Indonesian police say they’ve killed their most-wanted terrorist, Noordin Muhamed Top, and this time, they’re really sure. The last time they declared Noordin dead, after an August raid in Central Java, they later admitted he had actually escaped. But this time they say they’ve done a fingerprint match on the body to ensure it is him, the BBC reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Indonesian security forces have confirmed the death of the country's most wanted terrorist, ABC reports. Noordin Top, believed to have masterminded every terror attack in the country since 2002, including that year's Bali bombings and last month's Jakarta hotel bombings, was found dead after a 17-hour standoff and gun battle with police at a house in a remote part of Java. More»

(NEWSER) - Al Qaeda is weak militarily and “has been rejected by a great majority of Muslims,” Steve Coll writes in the New Yorker, but the terrorist organization and its affiliates can still create a “shock” like today's bombings in Jakarta. Despite the group's apparent inability to pull off a major attack like Sept. 11, “bombings like the one in Jakarta will recur for an indefinite time.” The only solution is for the US to assume “a posture of strategic patience about terrorism that is durable, vigilant, and proportional.” More»

He allegedly co-founded group behind Bali attack

(AP) - Indonesia's anti-terrorism unit arrested a radical Islamic cleric today for alleged ties to an al-Qaeda-affiliated cell accused of plotting high-profile assassinations and Mumbai-style attacks targeting foreigners in Jakarta. Abu Bakar Bashir, who has been arrested twice before and spent several years in jail, arrived at the national police headquarters under tight security. "The United States is behind this!" shouted the white-bearded cleric. "This arrest is a blessing. I will be rewarded by Allah!" More»