Asian al-Qaida affiliate played role in anniversary bomb plot

WASHINGTON -- U.S. counterterrorism officials believe the operations chief of an al-Qaida affiliate in southeast Asia played a key role in a failed plot to bomb at least one American embassy in the region to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Hambali, an Indonesian cleric whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin, is one of the top two leaders of Jemaah Islamiyah, a regional Islamic extremist network with cells in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar and Thailand, according to U.S. officials.

Counterterrorism officials learned of the bombing plot when a suspected al-Qaida leader now in U.S. custody gave up the plan. His threats led to the closure of embassies in Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam.

U.S. officials have declined to specify the target or targets of the Sept. 11 anniversary operation.