Suicide Bomber Syarif was Active JAT Member

CIREBON - Police said the suicide bomber who attacked the Adz Zikra mosque in the Cirebon city police compound last month, Mohammad Syarif, was an active member of the hardline group Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT).

"Syarif was an active member of JAT’s Cirebon chapter under the leadership of Agung Nur Alam alias Abu Husama," the head of the National Police’s public relations bureau, Inspector General Anton Bachrul Alam, said here on Thursday.

He said Syarif was initiated by JAT chief Abu Bakar Ba’asyir (who is currently being tried in court on terrorism financing charges) in Tasikmalaya in 2008 along with 10 other JAT members from Cirebon.

"Syarif was also active in attending gatherings led by Ba’asyir in several locations in West Java," he said. Anton said Syarif was also indoctrinated personally by Oman Abdurrahman alias Oman and by Agung Nur Alam.

"Oman is now a convict in the Aceh terrorism case. In his teachings, Oman justified robberies to collect funds to support fa’i (struggle)," he said.

Oman also justified the destruction of "dhiror" mosques (built by those not adhering to Allah’s laws) and fight against infidels including the Unitary State of Indonesia and its apparatus.

"The Syarif group learned bomb making from Yadi Al Hasan, the Amir of Ashabul Kahfi in Cirebon which is a small team whose members are all members of JAT’s Cirebon chapter," he said.

Among the suspects linked to terrorist cells in Cirebon and Klaten (Central Java) now being held are Achmad Basuki, Arief Budiman, Andri Siswanto, Musolah, Ishak Andriana, Edi Triwiyanto, Ari Budi Santoso, Nobita, Jahim, Dzulkifli Lubis, Eko Ibrahim, Mardiansyah and Arifin.

"Two of the suspects were killed in a firefight recently in Sukoharjo (Central Java), namely Sigit Qurdowi and Hendro," he said.

Syarif was killed in a suicide bombing during Friday prayers at the Adz Zikra mosque in the Cirebon city police compound on April 15, 2011. Several people were also injured in the incident including the chief of the Cirebon city police, Adjunct Senior Commissioner Herukoco. The police had also arrested Basuki, Syarif’s younger brother, for his alleged involvement in the case.