Militants will continue to target Westerners on the streets of Indonesia as they fight to impose full Islamic law, an accused terror leader told CNN.
Bomb attacks and other strategies are possible, according to Abu Dujana, who police call the most dangerous terror suspect they have ever dealt with. He is the military head of Jemaah Islamiyah, the Indonesian group linked to al Qaeda which has been blamed for the deaths of hundreds of Westerners and civilians.
"We will continue fighting and we may use other methods," he told CNN in a jailhouse interview days after being captured by Indonesian authorities.
Abu Dujana is accused of direct involvement in the Bali nightclub bombings of 2002 that killed more than 200 mostly Western tourists and subsequent attacks on the Australian Embassy and J.W. Marriott hotel, both in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
Abu Dujana, who police say is 37, admits becoming Jemaah Islamiyah's military chief, but says that happened only after the attacks on Western targets. He denies any involvement by his group. "We didn't do it," he told CNN during the interview at a secret location in police custody.
He described Jemaah Islamiyah as "an underground organization" saying "it will continue to exist and continue to move on with its plans" to create an Islamic state under Sharia law, despite his capture along with six other alleged terrorists earlier this month.
"When a part of it is cut off, [in this case] the head is cut off, there will be a replacement, it's only natural," he said, seeming to suggest that a new military commander will be appointed quickly. Among the areas under threat are the Christian communities on the island of Sulawesi that he says attacked Muslims. Indonesian police officers, he says, are also under threat, because the government does not implement full Sharia law.
Learning from bin Laden
Abu Dujana, who was captured after a four-year hunt in a confrontation at his house when he was shot in the leg, said he sympathizes with the goals of those he claims carried out the bombings.
He said he met al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan during the fight against Soviet occupation when bin Laden was a field commander and he was an ordinary soldier.
Abu Dujana said bin Laden was well respected then and helped him and others realize that it was permissible to kill people to defend Islam.
"I didn't read it in the Koran. It's based on the teachings of our teachers, clerics, especially what Osama bin Laden first said," Abu Dujana said of the tactics.
"Because of America's arrogance, many in the Muslim world know, believe, it's permissible to kill American soldiers. It's halal; it's permitted."
But while he admits Jemaah Islamiyah, al Qaeda and other terror groups have shared philosophies he said they have different methods and strategies. Al Qaeda operates globally, while Jemaah Islamiyah focuses only on Indonesia, he said.
And though it was permitted to kill innocent civilians -- and he had no sympathy for the victims of 9/11 -- he said that was not the goal of his group.
"I would like to see Jemaah Islamiyah choose their targets more carefully to limit civilian casualties, especially those who don't necessarily attack Islam."
Bomb attacks and other strategies are possible, according to Abu Dujana, who police call the most dangerous terror suspect they have ever dealt with. He is the military head of Jemaah Islamiyah, the Indonesian group linked to al Qaeda which has been blamed for the deaths of hundreds of Westerners and civilians.
"We will continue fighting and we may use other methods," he told CNN in a jailhouse interview days after being captured by Indonesian authorities.
Abu Dujana is accused of direct involvement in the Bali nightclub bombings of 2002 that killed more than 200 mostly Western tourists and subsequent attacks on the Australian Embassy and J.W. Marriott hotel, both in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
Abu Dujana, who police say is 37, admits becoming Jemaah Islamiyah's military chief, but says that happened only after the attacks on Western targets. He denies any involvement by his group. "We didn't do it," he told CNN during the interview at a secret location in police custody.
He described Jemaah Islamiyah as "an underground organization" saying "it will continue to exist and continue to move on with its plans" to create an Islamic state under Sharia law, despite his capture along with six other alleged terrorists earlier this month.
"When a part of it is cut off, [in this case] the head is cut off, there will be a replacement, it's only natural," he said, seeming to suggest that a new military commander will be appointed quickly. Among the areas under threat are the Christian communities on the island of Sulawesi that he says attacked Muslims. Indonesian police officers, he says, are also under threat, because the government does not implement full Sharia law.
Learning from bin Laden
Abu Dujana, who was captured after a four-year hunt in a confrontation at his house when he was shot in the leg, said he sympathizes with the goals of those he claims carried out the bombings.
He said he met al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan during the fight against Soviet occupation when bin Laden was a field commander and he was an ordinary soldier.
Abu Dujana said bin Laden was well respected then and helped him and others realize that it was permissible to kill people to defend Islam.
"I didn't read it in the Koran. It's based on the teachings of our teachers, clerics, especially what Osama bin Laden first said," Abu Dujana said of the tactics.
"Because of America's arrogance, many in the Muslim world know, believe, it's permissible to kill American soldiers. It's halal; it's permitted."
But while he admits Jemaah Islamiyah, al Qaeda and other terror groups have shared philosophies he said they have different methods and strategies. Al Qaeda operates globally, while Jemaah Islamiyah focuses only on Indonesia, he said.
And though it was permitted to kill innocent civilians -- and he had no sympathy for the victims of 9/11 -- he said that was not the goal of his group.
"I would like to see Jemaah Islamiyah choose their targets more carefully to limit civilian casualties, especially those who don't necessarily attack Islam."
BBC News
