Indonesia detains militant over 2005 Bali bombings

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian police have detained an Islamic militant suspected of involvement in triple suicide bombings on the resort island of Bali in 2005, a spokesman said on Monday.

Faiz Fauzan, who was arrested on April 22 in Central Java province, is a member of a wing of the militant group Jemaah Islamiah led by Malaysian fugitive Noordin Mohammad Top, said police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira.

"He is suspected of involvement in the planning of the second Bali bombings," Nataprawira told a news conference.

Three suicide bombers blew themselves up in tourist-packed Bali restaurants on October 1, 2005, killing 20 people.

Three years before, Islamic militants linked to Jemaah Islamiah had bombed nightclubs in Bali, killing more than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists.

Fauzan, who appeared with the police at the press conference, denied he was involved in the bombings, but admitted that he met Noordin.

"I had no knowledge of any plan for the bombings in Bali," he said.

Nataprawira said Fauzan attended a meeting to prepare for the attacks and met Malaysian militant Azahari Husin, who allegedly assembled the bombs.

Azahari was killed in a shootout with Indonesian anti-terrorism police in East Java in November 2005.

Fauzan also translated militant literature from Arabic into Indonesian and posted it on a website promoting attacks against Western interests, police said.

Jemaah Islamiah is blamed for a string of deadly attacks in recent years.

Three men are now on death row in Indonesia for their role in the 2002 attack.

But some of JI's more dangerous members remain at large including Noordin, who is wanted for alleged involvement in some of the group's deadliest attacks.

(Reporting by Telly Nathalia; Writing by Ahmad Pathoni; Editing by Alex Richardson)