Umar Patek was arrested March 29, 2011, in Abottabad, Pakistan. The Indonesian militant is accused of playing a key role in the 2002 Bali bombings and was long seen as a crucial link between Al Qaeda and its Southeast Asian affiliates such as Jemaah Islamiyah.
Pakistani authorities arrested Mr. Patek based on a tip-off from the CIA, according to The Jakarta Globe. Indonesian authorities welcomed the news, the Monitor reported at the time of his arrest. The member of Jemaah Islamiyah was being protected by a local Al Qaeda operative working undercover in the city’s main post office, a “signal that Al Qaeda may have had other operations in the area,” The New York Times reported. Indeed, it would be just a month before Osama bin Laden was killed in the same city.
It is unknown where Patek is now being detained.
