Possible Connection Between Jemaah Islamiyah and Somali Militants

The Indonesian Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirajuda, has suggested that there maybe some connection between the Somali militants arrested in Australia for a suicide bomb plot to Southeast Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah.

The Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) has been blamed for their bombing campaign since 2002; that approximately left at least 250 people dead, including the bombings on two luxury hotels in Jakarta last month. "I believe that they are not directly connected, but they might be connected at the top,” the Sydney Morning Herald cited Wirajuda as saying. Meanwhile, Five people were charged this week for a plot to attack an army barracks that some believe that is linked to the Somali Islamist militia al-Shabaab. Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, said earlier this week that there was no suggestion the army barracks plot and the Jakarta bombings were connected. Moreover, Bloomberg reported that The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said that the suicide plot in Australia is a reminder of the global threat posed by terrorists using Somalia as a training ground for attacks around the world. She also said that if al-Shabaab were to obtain a haven in Somalia, it would be a threat to the United States.