Indonesia captures aide of most-wanted militant

JAKARTA, June 10 (Reuters) Indonesian police have captured a suspected aide of wanted militant Abu Dujana, who is thought to head a splinter group of Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI), a police spokesman said today.

The spokesman said several others had also been detained yesterday but not yet identified and that it was possible Dujana, Indonesia's most wanted fugitive, was among them.

The captured man, named Mahfud but also known as Yusron, was caught by Detachment 88, Indonesia's secretive anti-terror unit, in Banyumas in Central Java, National Police spokesman Sisno Adiwinoto said by telephone.

''We have captured Mahfud alias Yusron. He is suspected of being a member of Abu Dujana's staff,'' Adiwinoto said.

''I can confirm that Yusron is not Abu Dujana. He is a close aide but Abu Dujana could also have been brought in by the team.'' Dujana is wanted in connection with several deadly bomb attacks, including the 2004 Australian embassy blast and a car bombing at the JW Marriot hotel in Jakarta a year ealier.

Mahfud, who was caught yesterday, was shot in the thigh during the operation.

Banyumas is about 125 km northwest of the city of Yogyakarta and 320 km southeast of the capital, Jakarta.

After a series of raids earlier this year, police revealed that Dujana had emerged as the head of a military wing of JI after the death in 2005 of master bomb-maker Azahari Husin.

Asian and Western authorities blame Jemaah Islamiah for a series of attacks in Southeast Asia, including the 2002 bombings that killed more than 200 people on the resort island of Bali.

Police previously said Dujana had direct control of the group's ammunition and explosives, including distribution and storage.

In the March raids, police said they had also found a huge cache of weapons, explosives and chemicals that could be used to make a bomb bigger than the main device used in Bali.

Although there has not been a major bomb attack since 2005, police say Indonesia still faces a considerable threat from Islamic militants.

REUTERS SLD RK1831