Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Indonesian police confirmed yesterday that it is holding a Singaporean national suspected of ties with wanted Malaysian terrorist Noordin Moh Top. The police anti-terror squad captured Abdul Rosyid, aka Hamdan, on April 18 on Sumbawa, a largely Muslim island in West Nusa Tenggara province.

Deputy police spokesman in Jakarta Anton Bachrul Alam said that "police detectives in the province are still interrogating the man to shed light on his alleged involvement in terrorist activities in the area. They are still investigating whether Hamdan is tied to Noordin Moh Top or not". He was arrested for breaking Indonesia's immigration law.

After meeting top public security and intelligence officials, police chief General Sutanto said that his office was in contact with Interpol to determine the detainee's status.

"We'll send him back to his country of origin only if we are certain that he is not involved in any terrorist activities," he explained.

In recent days, Indonesian police has raised the level of alert following reports that Noordin M Top had recruited suicide bombers for possible attacks in Poso, in Central Sulawesi. The Malaysian terrorist is still on the run and thought to be hiding in Java.

Noordin is considered one of Jemaah Islamiah's main leaders and his flight from justice has for some time been a major source of anxiety for Indonesian Christians. Last year after the death of the notorious terrorist Azahari, also linked to the Jemaah Islamiah, the authorities uncovered a broad plan to target Catholic churches at Christmas in Malang (East Java).

Jemaah Islamiah is a terrorist network that operates in South-East Asia and is thought to be closely linked to al-Qaeda.