The Family Behind the Bombings

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Big brother had been even busier. While his mentor Abubakar had returned to Ngruki in 1999 after the fall of Suharto, Mukhlas remained at the Sungei Tiram madrasah, spending more and more time in Singapore where he recruited a core group to conduct surveillance of possible targets for terrorist strikes in the city-state. According to Singaporean police, Mukhlas employed his own relatives: one of those arrested in January 2000 was Hashim bin Abbas, his brother-in-law. Another detainee, Sanin bin Riffin, detailed to police how he carried out surveillance and drew maps of potential targets in Singapore, such as of water pipelines, on Mukhlas' orders.

Their plans were foiled, however, that April when a group of Islamic radicals associated with Hambali botched a bank robbery at a branch of the Southern Bank in the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Petaling Jaya. Two of the robbers were killed and one was captured. Astonished Malaysian police, through interrogations of the surviving robber, began piecing together the subterranean world of militant Islam. More raids and arrests followed, leading police to the Sungei Tiram madrasah, which they shut down in May 2001 and locked up 12 teachers.

Mukhlas, forewarned, had fled back to his home village. The brothers' reunion, however, was short-lived, as Mukhlas and Hambali, according to police and intelligence officials, traveled to Afghanistan in late 2001 to aid the Taliban in their struggle against the U.S.

It isn't clear whether Mukhlas was at the next critical meeting in the long road that lead to Bali: a mid-January conclave of Jemaah Islamiah leaders in southern Thailand. Hambali certainly was present, though, with an attendee reporting that the furious Jemaah Islamiah commander ordered a significant change of tactics following the disruption by police of the group's plan to set off seven truck bombs in Singapore. From now on, Hambali ordered, the group would attack soft targets: bars, nightclubs and restaurants frequented by foreigners. But despite his pre-eminence at that meeting, regional intelligence officials say they are certain Hambali soon handed over day-to-day operations of Jemaah Islamiah to Mukhlas. "Hambali was too well known," an official says. "He could still give orders but he had to get out of the region, so he went back to Pakistan. We're 200% sure he's still there and that's why Mukhlas is still in charge."

Though Mukhlas' name has been known for some time, it is only in the past few weeks that intelligence officials have recognized his lethal role. "He and Hambali are very similar men," says Rohan Gunaratna, author of a seminal study of al-Qaeda. "They are both very experienced operatives, long-term thinkers and strategists who speak little but demonstrate their thinking through action." They also share an utter ruthlessness in delegating the most dangerous jobs to subordinates, friends or family. In Hambali's case, his ambitious plan to set off a series of 15 bombs simultaneously in Jakarta on Dec. 24, 2000, left 19 dead, three of them his own men. Although Mukhlas was intimately involved in conceiving and planning the Bali attack, regional intelligence officials say he appears to have delegated operational authority to Imam Samudra, a militant already being sought by police for suspected involvement in the Christmas bombings.

That version of events is confirmed by Amrozi, who says he met with Samudra (a.k.a. Hudama) several times in August and September this year to discuss the Bali bombing. The last time they met, "we had a chat after praying together at the Great Mosque in Solo," Amrozi told police. "It was there that Hudama planned to do the bombing in Bali. Hudama said he would send me some money and a car that would be used to carry out the bombing."

Amrozi, ever faithful, followed his orders carefully, purchasing the van and the chemicals used in the bombing and ferrying them to Bali. When he, Samudra and a number of the other planners met at that beach paradise, Amrozi was quickly reminded of his place in the pecking order: "At one point I asked them where I was supposed to take the car and explosives," Amrozi recounted. "But Hudama told me it was not my business anymore. Before I left to return home I saw a Nokia 5110 mobile phone that was connected to a number of cables. I asked Hudama about it, but again he told me it was none of my business."

Amrozi is fatalistic about his future, "I leave everything to God" and unremorseful, regretting only that he killed so many Australians instead of Americans, his intended targets. He did, however, express regret to his "parents, brothers and sisters and other relatives over the event that has caused so much trouble." He added that only he and his younger brother Ali Imron were involved, pointedly leaving out Mukhlas' name. That's real loyalty. Amrozi faces a long jail sentence and possibly the death penalty. Two younger brothers, a nephew and several friends accused of aiding in the Bali plot have disappeared and are being sought by police; other siblings have had to face days of questioning by police and raids on their homes. Amrozi's mother and his father, the quadriplegic Nur Hasyim, were forced to flee their house to avoid hordes of journalists. In contrast, older brother and mentor Mukhlas is still at large. For the self-appointed storm troopers of militant Islam in Southeast Asia, it seems family comes a distant second to fulfilling their brutal conception of God's will.