Indonesia detains aide to fugitive militant -source

JAKARTA, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Indonesian anti-terrorism police have detained a close aide to the country's most-wanted militant, Malaysian Noordin M. Top, a senior police source said on Thursday.

"This is one of Noordin's boys from his inner circle," said the source, who declined to be identified and gave few details.

The source said the man was detained in the central Java city of Semarang on Wednesday. One of his roles was to recruit bodyguards for Top, said the source.

Top is a senior member of Jemaah Islamiah, a shadowy militant group seen as the Southeast Asian arm of al Qaeda.

He is blamed for helping mastermind a string of bombings in recent years in Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali nightclub attacks that killed 202 people, mainly foreign tourists.

A police spokesman in central Java said he was aware of the detention of the aide but declined to give details.

Top worked closely in Indonesia with fellow Malaysian Azahari bin Husin, who was killed in a police raid on his East Java hideout in November. Azahari was also a senior Jemaah Islamiah operative.

Police say they almost caught Top hours before the November raid and he is thought to be still in Indonesia.

Azahari was considered a master bomb maker, while police say Top is an expert in recruiting young suicide bombers among Indonesia's impoverished masses.