Umar Patek Is Close To Osama bin Laden

Posted on Apr 01, 2011

Terrorism Observers from the State Intelligence Academy in Jakarta, Mardigu, suspected that Umar Patek who is a known as a mentor or teacher of the deceased terrorist leader Noordin M. Top was trying to enter Afghanistan through Pakistani territory when caught by the Pakistani Police.

Mardigu said that in addition to Hambali, Umar Patek who has Arab blood line was one of Indonesian citizen who is known to be close to al-Qaida leader, Osama bin Laden. Umar Patek is a known international terrorist and a fugitive in at least three countries, Indonesia, The US and the Philippines.

Umar Patek side by side with the decased Dulmatin

According Mardigu, Umar Patek roles was very big in various terrorist acts in Indonesia. “We see that in the Bali bombing one and two, he was very instrumental as a field commander. He coordinates and so forth, including the provision of explosive materials and other things. Very, very important, he was the teacher of Noordin (M. Top). Umar Patek is not new or foreigners in Pakistan. He is part of an international network, he is a man of Al-Qaeda

The suspected terrorist leader Umar Patek alias Umar alias Abdul Ghoni Arab was reportedly captured in Pakistan. He was allegedly planning terrorist attacks to commemorate the 10 years 11 September 2011 with other Al-Qaeda leaders.

Head of Public Relations Division of Police Headquarters, Inspector General Anton Bahrul Alam said the Indonesian Police have sent a joint team to Pakistan to ensure the validity of Umar Patek arrest information.

According to Anton, the team will conduct a physical check of Umar Patek. If they can confirm that the man arrested was indeed Umar Patek, the Indonesian Police will need to make sure whether he had committed crimes under Pakistani laws.

“We need to first check the validity of the information,” said Anton. “For that we would send people over there to make sure that it really is Umar Patek. If so, we will see if he had committed the crime in that country.”

If Umar Patek had involved in criminal cases in Pakistan, he added, it will be very difficult to extradite him to Indonesia.

Umar Patek is suspected as an alumnus of the Afghan force from 1990s. He is rumored to have once joined the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao in 1995. (VOA)