Authorities turn attention to Malaysian bomber

Authorities turn attention to Malaysian bomber

Jasbant Singh, Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur

As governments on Friday celebrated the arrest of suspected al- Qaeda henchman Hambali, authorities are turning their attention to a mild-mannered, bespectacled former teacher -- Southeast Asia's new most wanted man.

Azahari Husin, a 46-year-old former university lecturer in engineering who studied in Australia and England, has been named by Indonesia as the technical expert who built the sophisticated bombs used in last year's attack on Bali island that killed 202 people.

Investigators say there are similarities between the techniques used in Bali blast and one last week at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta, which killed 12 people, raising suspicions Azahari was involved in that attack, too.

Azahari disappeared from his home in southern Malaysia in late 2001, just before authorities launched a crackdown on suspects believed to be involved in an al-Qaeda-linked plot to bomb the U.S., British, Australian, Israeli embassies and other Western targets in Singapore.

Police nabbed scores of suspects in December 2001 and subsequent raids, but missed two key figures -- Azahari and Hambali, also known as Riduan Isamuddin.

Before the 2001 crackdown, the two spent the previous decade helping build the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) network accused in a string of bomb attacks in Indonesia and the Philippines as well as the Bali and JW Marriott blasts, and the Singapore plot.

Hambali is also alleged to have strong ties to al-Qaeda, and arranged visits to Malaysia in 2000 for two of the hijackers in Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and other al-Qaeda operatives.

Hambali was arrested on Monday in Thailand, Thai military officials said. U.S. President George W. Bush was among many national leaders who welcomed it as a victory in the fight against terrorism.

Malaysia, which shares borders with all of the other countries where JI operates -- Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines -- has played a key role in hunting Hambali, Azahari and other suspects.

"With the capture of Hambali, Azahari clearly has become the prime target of the police manhunt for Jamaah Islamiyah operatives in Southeast Asia," a senior Malaysian government official told The Associated Press on Friday.

"He is very dangerous as he is exceptionally well trained in all types of bombs, especially remote-controlled explosives," the official said, on condition of anonymity.

One rival to Azahari's "most wanted" status could be Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi, a convicted JI bombmaker who escaped last month from a Philippines prison. But Malaysian officials say that if Azahari was involved in the Jakarta blast, it shows he has access to explosives and can carry out attacks while on the run and therefore poses a greater immediate danger than Al-Ghozi.

Malaysia's national police chief Norian Mai said on Friday Hambali's capture would likely help in the broader hunt for terrorist suspects. The Malaysian official spoken to by AP said this could include "valuable tips" on Azahari's whereabouts.

Police in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand were working closely to zero in on Azahari, he said.

"Our intelligence shows that Azahari is using Indonesia as his base and in recent months he has traveled via Aceh to the southern Thai province of Satun," the official said.

Another Malaysian official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Azahari left behind a wife stricken with cancer and two dependent children to devote himself to a campaign of violence.

"He is very committed to the Jamaah Islamiyah and has reportedly told colleagues that he has submitted himself completely to a jihad," or Islamic holy war, the official said.

The Star newspaper reported on Friday that Azahari has changed his appearance and was last seen in May, sporting shoulder length hair, in the Indonesian town of Pekanbaru on Sumatra island.

Officials say he escaped capture when he left a militant hangout minutes before it was raided by police.

Azahari studied in Adelaide, Australia, in the mid-1970s but failed to complete his engineering degree, returning home in 1979. He then enrolled at a local university before leaving for Britain in 1986 for further studies.