New Terror Group Member Trained by Al Qaeda

(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) As a followup to the previous post reporting that a new terror group is operating in Southeast Asia, Malaysian investigators found that at least one member is al-Qaeda-trained.

From TheStar.com.my:

One of the 12 members of the new terror group Darul Islam arrested by the Malaysian police was trained by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda movement in Afghanistan, investigations revealed.

The Indonesian, who was trained to handle arms and make bombs, is said to have conducted similar training for members of the group in Indonesia and in the southern Philippines.

Regional intelligence sources, who described the radical group as dangerous, said the man had been a strong source of influence on the rest of the other Darul Islam members.

They said the regional intelligence agencies had been keeping tabs on the group, particularly its link with the Abu Sayyaf, a small violent Muslim terrorist group operating in the southern Philippines.

Several of its leaders had reportedly fought in Afghanistan during the Soviet war and were students and proponents of radical Islamic teaching.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has instructed Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Mohd Bakri Omar, to issue a full report on the arrest and investigation of the 12 Darul Islam members.

The fact that al-Qaeda is involved, even minimally so, with Darul Islam should come as no surprise to prudent observers. All the terrorist groups seem to work together in a shadowy web of brotherly support.