Kuala Lumpur, November 25 (IslamOnline) - The Bali bombing mastermind, Imam Samudera Alias Abdul Azis, has been moved from police secret detention to a cell in the Police Headquarters in Jakarta for further questioning on the Church bombings in 2000.

The deputy head of Indonesian police's Public Relations Division, Brig-Gen Edward Aritonang said that the other three suspects, Yudi, Rauf and Amin, arrested on Friday and Saturday, November 22, 23, were also taken with him to the police headquarters, news agencies said on Monday November 25.

Indonesian police also announced the arrest of 5 more suspects, all friends of Samudera on Sunday, November 24, Tempo magazine said.

Samudera and his friends were also formally linked to the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), alleged terror group high on the list of the U.S. and Singapore for terror activities.

"The questioning, which starts today will take about a week. The focus of the questioning revolves around the bombings of churches and the Atrium Plaza, in 2000," Aritonang told reporters in east Java.

He said the Imam, who spent part of his life in Malaysia, and his compatriots would then be taken to Bali for further detention after the probe on the Jakarta bombing incidents are completed.

Imam Samudera will be questioned on the year 2000 series of church bombings on Christmas Eve in 2000 that killed at least 13 people.

Imam confessed to the police that he was responsible for a spate of bombings at churches on Riau islands. Abu Bakar Basyir, the Islamic leader arrested over the Church bombing will also be grilled after the questioning of Samudera, IslamOnline was told.

A Malaysian, Taufik Abdul Halim, sentenced to life imprisonment for the attempted bombing at Atrium Plaza in Jakarta in August 2000, also linked Imam with the act, Bernama news agency said on Monday.

Halim, whose right leg had to be amputated when the home-made bomb he was carrying blasted prematurely, was sentenced to death in May this year by the Jakarta Central District Court before it was later commuted to life imprisonment by the higher court following an appeal.

The Malaysian earlier denied he was aware of carrying a bomb and denied knowing the existence of the Malaysian Mujahideen Movement (KMM). At the time of the bombing in Jakarta, no one ever knew the JI even existed, an observer told IslamOnline.

Over the weekend, the Indonesian police conducted several house searches in Serang, Banten and Sukohardjo, Central Java, where Imam, whose birthname is Abdul Aziz, and his accomplices, stayed.

The houses are located in Pesanggrahan village, Grogol district, some 3km from the Al Mukmin Ngruki, Islamic boarding school founded by Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, Bernama added.

Abu Bakar, alleged leader of the JI, a regional militant network, is being detained at the Indonesian police headquarters here for his alleged role in the church bombings and a plot to kill President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Police also found video compact discs (VCD) including a speech given by Osama bin Laden, leader of the al Qaeda, a terrorist network which had been blamed to be behind the Sept 11 attacks in New York and Washington in the house raids in Indonesia.

Imam, who is also wanted by the Malaysian police for alleged terrorism activities, admitted to the October 12 Bali bombings that killed at least 185 people, mostly foreigners.