The purported new military chief of a Southeast Asian terror group is among a handful of Indonesians in direct contact with al-Qaida and is now considered the most lethal terrorist in Asia, plotting fresh attacks in the region, officials have told The Associated Press.

　　Known as Zulkarnaen, the highest-ranking Jemaah Islamiyah leader still on the loose is believed to head an elite squad that helped carry out a suicide bombing at a Jakarta hotel that killed 12 people, in addition to helping prepare bombs that killed 202 people in Bali, US and Indonesian officials told AP.

　　Zulkarnaen held a meeting last March on the tiny island of Sebatik with two other senior militants to plot upcoming attacks against Western hotels and banks in Indonesia, a senior intelligence adviser said.

　　The adviser and the US and Indonesia officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

　　"He's considered to be the most dangerous guy that's out there," said terrorism expert Ken Conboy, who runs Risk Management Advisory, a Jakarta-based security consultancy, and has written several books on Indonesia.

　　"Not only did he excel on the demolition side but he also has a proven ability on the leadership side. I guess he's got a spark of charisma," Conboy added.

　　Zulkarnaen, whose real name is Aris Sumarsono, is called Daud by fellow militants and is thought to be hiding in Indonesia. He became operations chief for Jemaah Islamiyah several weeks after the August arrest in Thailand of his alleged predecessor, Riduan Isamuddin, also known as Hambali, US and Indonesian officials said.

　　He's now among al-Qaida's pointmen in Southeast Asia and is one of the few people in Indonesia who have direct contact with Osama bin Laden's terror network, said the intelligence adviser. The International Crisis group think tank recently issued a report also listing Zulkarnaen as having direct contact with al-Qaida's leadership.

　　Officials said Zulkarnaen now leads a squad of militants called Laskar Khos, or special force, whose members were recruited from some 300 Indonesians who trained in Afghanistan and the Philippines.