Suspected militant leader held by Indonesia’s counter-terrorism squad

Militant cleric Abu Rusdan, centre, is escorted by security officers after his trial hearing at a district court in Jakarta, Indonesia (Tata Syufiana/AP)

Indonesia’s elite counter-terrorism squad has arrested a convicted militant and suspected leader of an al Qaida-linked group that has been blamed for a string of past bombings in the country, Indonesia police said.

Abu Rusdan was seized late on Friday in Bekasi near the capital of Jakarta, along with three other suspected members of Jemaah Islamiyah, police spokesman Ahmad Ramadhan said.