29 March 2011 VOA News Intelligence officials say top Indonesian terror suspect Umar Patek, wanted in connection with the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing, had been arrested in Pakistan earlier this month.
Patek, a suspected member of the al-Qaida-linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, is believed to have served as the group's field commander in the bombing that killed 202 people, most of them Australian citizens.
In 2006, the United States offered an $11-million reward for information leading to the arrests of Umar Patek and his associate, Dulmatin.
Also Tuesday, Pakistani military officials said friendly fire killed 13 paramilitary troops in the country's Khyber tribal region as they were battling a militant ambush.
A top military commander said the troops were killed late Monday by their own mortar.
Khyber lies on the main NATO land supply route through Pakistan into Afghanistan and is home to several extremist groups, including the Pakistani Taliban.
On Monday, Pakistani authorities arrested at least 11 people in the southern port city of Karachi in connection with targeted political killings.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said more than 43 people have been killed in Karachi in 18 days. He said the assassinations were part of a “conspiracy against Pakistan to destabilize it.” He did not elaborate.
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