Indonesia Cleric Rejects Hostage Exchange
An Islamic militant group claiming to have kidnapped two Indonesian women in Iraq demanded the release of a jailed Indonesian cleric, but the cleric Saturday refused to be freed in an exchange, saying hostage-taking is not in keeping with Islam. Cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who Washington says is a terror mastermind in Southeast Asia, has been in prison since 2002, accused of heading an al-Qaida-linked group. He was arrested three weeks after the Bali bombings killed 202 people that year.Full Story