Malaysian Students Linked to Al Qaeda

(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) A source close to The Star recently disclosed the details of a terrorist's confession which directly links Jemaah Islamiah in Malaysia and Al Qaeda.

Jemaah Islamiah (JI) has a house in Pakistan where students from Malaysia and Singapore are indoctrinated and prepared for militant activities.

Gungun Rusman Gunawan, a brother of Ridwan Ishamuddin (better known as Hambali, a key man in al-Qaeda's operations in South-East Asia who was captured in Thailand in August 2003) revealed this in his confession to the Indonesian police last year.

Gungun stated that he set up the house for students at the direction of Abdul Rahim, the youngest son of jailed Indonesian Muslim leader Abubakar Ba'asyir. Malaysian students visited the house and were recruited to undergo military training in Afghanistan.

Gungun revealed that recruits for the Afghan military stint had to undergo a 40-day tadrib (military training) before they were introduced to light weaponry for 20 days.

"They were exposed to the theory and handling of AK-47 assault rifles and Pulemyot Kalashnikov general purpose machine guns."

"They were also introduced to RPG (rocket propelled grenade) guns, M-16 rifles and a wide range of pistols."

Gungun, a former student of the Abu Bakar Islamic University, said the recruits were also taught how to read the compass and maps and use explosives like Molotov bombs, grenades, anti-tank mines and TNT.

The total number of Malaysians and Singaporeans who actually received military training is unknown. It's also unknown whether any student houses continue to operate as recruit centers. Let's hope they've been shut down.

Ultimately, Gungun and 18 others, were arrested by Pakistani and American authorities. After his arrest, Gungun was deported to Indonesia and subsequently sentenced to four years in prison for his part in the Jakarta Marriot Hotel bombing.