BANDA ACEH, Indonesia – From the safety of a forest camp, a commander of a new Indonesian militant group looks into a camera and ridicules the notorious extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah: They are not violent enough, come and join us, he shouts, an automatic rifle in one hand.

The emergence of the previously unknown group calling itself al-Qaida in Aceh shows how Southeast Asian militants are adapting even amid a Western-funded crackdown that began following the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings and has taken out scores of top leaders.

The group’s criticism of Jemaah Islamiyah is further evidence of the split in Indonesian extremist networks between militants supporting al-Qaida-style attacks inside the country and those who believe such attacks hurt the longer-term aim of establishing a Muslim state in Southeast Asia.

The speech is contained on a 75-minute training, recruitment and propaganda video obtained by The Associated Press from a person not affiliated with the militant group. It contains scenes of about 15 militants exercising on monkey bars, shooting automatic weapons and preaching in a makeshift camp in the western province of Aceh that was raided last month by anti-terrorist police.

It is interspersed with old clips of Osama bin Laden urging violent jihad, or holy war, and scenes of the men eating fish and rice together from a communal pot, chanting as they march through the camp and bathing in a river.

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CANBERRA/JAKARTA (Reuters) –
A suspected mastermind of the Bali bombings was killed in a police raid in Indonesia in the latest blow to an Islamist militant movement in the world’s most populous Muslim country.

Dulmatin, who once trained with al Qaeda in Afghanistan, was one of three militants killed in a shootout with police at an Internet cafe and a house nearby, Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Wednesday.

“Today I can announce to you that after a successful police raid against the terrorists hiding out in Jakarta yesterday, we can confirm that one of those that was killed was Dulmatin, one of the top Southeast Asian terrorists,” Yudhoyono said in a speech in Australia’s parliament house in Canberra.

The series of police raids that led to Dulmatin’s death will be seen as a coup in Indonesia’s fight against Islamist radicals ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit March 20-22.

But analysts said Dulmatin’s emergence in Indonesia with a new group showed a worrisome ability of local militants to forge international links, including with al Qaeda-affiliated outfits.

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MANILA, Philippines – Philippine marines killed at least seven al-Qaida-linked militants Sunday in a raid on a coastal hide-out, but failed to capture a Malaysian terror suspect long wanted by Washington, officials said.

Government forces, backed by intelligence from captured militants and U.S. military surveillance, have staged a series of offensives against the Abu Sayyaf extremist group in recent weeks — including one that killed a top commander last month.

Marines in rubber boats launched the latest raid Sunday on Laminusa Island off southern Sulu province, sparking two clashes that left seven militants dead — including two women — and wounded a marine, regional military commander Brig. Gen. Rustico Guerrero said.

Malaysian militant Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, and Abu Sayyaf commander Abu Benhur are believed to have escaped with other fleeing militants, Guerrero said.

“They may have escaped but we’re pursuing them. This campaign will be relentless,” he told The Associated Press by telephone.

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