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April 13, 2006 Treasury Designates Four Leaders of Terrorist Group “Jemaah Islamiyah” The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated four top leaders of the al Qaida-linked Southeast Asian terrorist organization that calls itself "Jemaah Islamiyah" (JI). Today's action was taken pursuant to Executive Order 13224, which is aimed at prohibiting transactions with terrorists and their supporters and freezing their assets. "Members of JI have been trained, funded and directed by al Qaida to pursue a like-minded terrorist agenda, including executing some of the deadliest terrorist attacks against innocents since the war on terror began," said Pat O'Brien, Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crime. "The Treasury's designation today targets four individuals for their respective roles in carrying out JI's deadly agenda." The U.S. is joining with Australia and other countries to submit these individuals to the United Nations 1267 Committee, which will consider adding them to the consolidated list of terrorists tied to al Qaida, UBL and the Taliban. Operating primarily in Southeast Asia, JI aims to establish, through violent jihad, a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia. On October 12, 2002, JI members carried out the brutal near-simultaneous bombings in Bali, Indonesia, that killed 202 people. Two of the three blasts occurred in a popular tourist district, and one occurred near the U.S. Consulate. The attacks killed citizens from over 20 countries worldwide. Australia suffered the greatest number of casualties with 88 Australian nationals killed. On October 1, 2005, suicide bombers attacked Bali again in what appeared to be the work of JI. These latest suicide bombings at restaurants frequented by tourists killed 23 people, including the suicide bombers, and injured at least 135. JI was involved in the bombing of the Marriott hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, on August 5, 2003 that killed 12 people, including the suicide bomber The attack took place during the busy lunch hour in Jakarta's central business district. JI was also behind the September 9, 2004 suicide bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. That attack killed nine people and injured 182. In December 2001, Singapore authorities arrested 13 JI members, eight of whom had trained in al Qaida camps in Afghanistan, who planned to bomb the U.S. and Israeli embassies, British and Australian diplomatic buildings, and U.S. and Singapore defense targets in Singapore. Members of the group had conducted videotaped surveillance of the potential targets. A copy of the videotape was found that same month in Afghanistan in the destroyed house of Muhammad Atif, al Qaida's former military commander. The U.S. Government possesses sufficient credible evidence that the following individuals designated today act on behalf of JI through acts of terrorism and support for terrorism. IDENTIFIER INFORMATION Abu Bakar Ba'asyir As JI's top leader, Ba'asyir has authorized terrorist operations and the use of JI operatives and resources for multiple terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia. According to JI members, Ba'asyir needed to approve significant JI operations, either personally or through his leadership council. Ba'asyir authorized the Bali bombings of October 12, 2002, that killed 202 people. He authorized the use of JI operatives and resources for a plan to conduct simultaneous bomb attacks against U.S. embassies in Southeast Asia on or near the first anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Ba'asyir also ordered a series of bomb attacks on Indonesian churches on December 24, 2000. The Christmas Eve bombings, carried out in 38 locations in 11 cities, killed 19 people and wounded approximately 120. Upon the death of Abdullah Sungkar in 1999, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir assumed the position of the overall leader, or emir, of JI. Following his arrest in 2002, Abu Rusdan, who was previously designated by the Treasury, fulfilled Ba'aysir's day-to-day duties as emir. As JI's top leader, Ba'asyir also made or approved important decisions regarding the JI organization. Ba'asyir appointed Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin, aka Hambali, as the head of the JI organization in Malaysia and Singapore, which came to be referred to as Mantiqi I. Hambali was captured in 2003. Ba'asyir called for the destruction of the United States, England, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines in early 2005 and appealed for the destruction of national leaders while urging his followers to commit violent acts of jihad. In March 2005, Ba'asyir was convicted in Indonesia of conspiracy in the 2002 Bali bombings and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. As a result of two sentence reductions, Ba'asyir is currently scheduled to be released in June 2006. Gun Gun Rusman Gunawan Gun Gun Rusman Gunawan was a leader and founder of a JI group in Pakistan known as Al-Ghuraba. This group was established with the approval of Gunawan's older brother, al Qaida leader, and former JI chief of operations Hambali. The Al-Ghuraba group was formed to groom the next generation of JI leaders, provide them with training in weapons and explosives, and give them firsthand experience in militant operations. The group reportedly also served as a JI sleeper cell. Gunawan instructed Al-Ghuraba cell members on the need for jihad against the United States and for the forceful overthrow of governments in Southeast Asia. Among other things, he provided instruction on suicide and hijacking operations. Gunawan was also an al Qaida facilitator and was given authority to coordinate contact between the Al-Ghuraba cell and the Taliban. He frequently met with al Qaida members and served in the role of a Karachi al Qaida conduit for jihadis in Pakistan. He also served as an e-mail conduit between a senior al Qaida member and Hambali. Gunawan was arrested in Pakistan in September 2003 and deported to Indonesia in December 2003. In October 2004, he was convicted in Indonesia on charges that he helped fund the August 2003 bombing of the Marriott hotel in Jakarta that killed 12 people and was sentenced to four years in jail. Gunawan admitted to facilitating the transfer of al Qaida money to Hambali and to carrying out orders from Hambali. Taufik Rifki As JI's finance officer in the Philippines, Taufik Rifki has served as a major conduit for funding terrorist operations and training activities in the Philippines. Rifki has also served as JI's logistics officer and as a liaison to other militant groups in the Philippines. In 1998, Rifki trained in weapons, explosives and map reading at a terrorist training camp in the Philippines and later was an instructor at the camp. He is also suspected of involvement in various attacks across the southern Philippines, including a series of deadly bombings in Mindanao, the Philippines, in 2003. In October 2003 Rifki was arrested in a JI safe house in Cotabato City, the Philippines, that reportedly held biological and chemical warfare manuals. He is currently in detention in the Philippines. Abdullah Anshori Abdullah Anshori was associated with JI emir Abu Bakar Ba'asyir while in Malaysia and served as the head of the JI organization in Indonesia, which came to be known as Mantiqi II. Additionally, Anshori represented JI at meetings of Rabitatul Mujahidin (League of Mujahidins), an association of militant groups in the region. Anshori is one of the most senior JI leaders still at large. Background on Jemaah Islamiyah The United States named JI a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) and a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) on October 23, 2002. Two days later, JI was added to the United Nations 1267 Committee's consolidated list of terrorists tied to Usama bin Laden (UBL), al Qaida or the Taliban. Notably, 36 countries supported the UN listing of JI, the single largest designation action to occur since the attacks of September 11, 2001. All UN member states are required to block the assets of persons on its consolidated sanctions list, as well as institute an arms embargo and travel ban against them. On January 24, 2003, two senior JI leaders, Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin, aka Hambali, and Mohamad Iqbal Abdurrahman, aka Abu Jibril, were designated as SDGTs under E.O. 13224. They were added to the UN 1267 Committee sanctions list on January 28, 2003. On September 5, 2003, an additional 19 individuals supporting and/or committing acts of terrorism on behalf of JI, and one non-JI co-conspirator in the 1995 plot to simultaneously blow up 12 U.S. commercial airliners while airborne, were designated as SDGTs under E.O. 13224. These individuals were added to the UN 1267 Committee sanctions list on September 9, 2003. On May 12, 2005, three additional key JI members were designated as SDGTs under E.O. 13224. These individuals are Abu Rusdan, Zulkarnaen and Joko Pitono, aka Dulmatin. They were added to the UN 1267 Committee sanctions list on May 16, 2005.
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