JAKARTA REQUESTS DOD REWARDS PROGRAM ASSISTANCE

S E C R E T JAKARTA 001279 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR DS/ICI/RFJ, DS/IP/EAP, DS/DSS/ITA, DS/CC, DS/IIP/SC, EAP/MTS, S/CT DOJ FOR CTS THORNTON, AAG SWARTZ FBI FOR ETTIU/SSA ROTH E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/07/2017 TAGS: PTER ASEC MOPS PREL PINS ID SUBJECT: JAKARTA REQUESTS DOD REWARDS PROGRAM ASSISTANCE REF: A. 06 JAKARTA 07393 ¶B. 06 SECSTATE 38934 ¶C. 05 JAKARTA 16556 Classified By: CDA John A. Heffern, for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) Action Request: See paragraph 2. ¶2. (S) The Indonesian National Police (INP) has provided us with information on four Indonesian counterterrorism rewards candidates who helped INP CT units track down top Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) operatives Azahari, Jabir, and Abdul Hadi. Our rewards working group has reviewed the information and requests that the candidates be considered for payment under the Department of Defense (DOD) rewards program at U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM). We will send the complete information packets on each candidate to the appropriate USPACOM office through separate channels. ¶3. (S) If these reward requests are approved, they would be the first candidates to receive CT rewards under our behind-the-scenes efforts to help the INP develop a more formal CT-focused rewards program. (Refs A-C) We believe these initial reward payouts will boost interest in the reward program among the INP officers we are discreetly working with and motivate them to move forward on sending out more direct anti-terrorism messages and requests for information from the public. We will observe the actual payouts which will occur privately at a secure venue selected by the INP. The actual payout procedure and the identity of the informant will not be broadcast publicly. These payouts will allow the INP to publicly advertise that the INP program has provided payouts for information to encourage public participation. ¶4. (S) It should be reemphasized that Post and the INP remain in agreement that USG assistance and funding of a rewards program should remain discreet and out of the public eye. Recent statements by GOI officials warning against excessive U.S. involvement in CT policy reaffirmed longstanding sensitivity to certain types of foreign involvement. We welcome the participation of both the DOD rewards program and the DOJ Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program in our effort to assist the INP in combating terrorism in Indonesia. ¶5. (S) The following information highlights the importance of the three terrorists who the rewards applicants assisted the INP in stopping: ¶A. Azahari bin Hussein: Azahari was a significant JI operative and bombmaker who the INP believes was the technical mastermind behind Indonesia's major terrorist bombings. Leads from suspects arrested following the October 1, 2005 triple suicide bombings in Bali, and information from two of the rewards candidates resulted in November 2005 INP raid on a safehouse linked to Azahari. Azahari and another JI bomb expert, Arman, died in the East Java raid, which also netted the INP an array of videotapes and documents on JI operations. ¶B. Abdul Hadi: Abdul Hadi served as a key facilitator to Noordin Top and received explosives training from Azahari. Abdul Hadi may also have assisted in recruiting suicide bombers in the September 2004 Australian Embassy attack and the second Bali attack in October 2005. Abdul Hadi was the son-in-law of convicted 2002 Bali bomber Amrozi. In March 2006, Abdul Hadi may have been part of an "advance team" that recruited potential suicide bombers and conducted operational surveys for Noordin Top. The information from one of the rewards candidates helped the INP identify Abdul Hadi, who was later killed in the resulting INP raid in April 2006. ¶C. Jabir: The cousin of deceased JI senior operative and explosives expert, Fathur Rahman al-Ghozi, Jabir was a courier and facilitator for Azahari and Noordin Top, and also may have received explosives training from Azahari. He is tied to the terror attacks against the 2003 JW Marriott Hotel bombing and the 2004 Australian Embassy bombing. The information from one of the rewards candidates helped the INQQ dentify Jabir, who was later killed in the resulting IN raid in April 2006. HEFFERN