Azahari family accepts his death

Azahari family accepts his death

Jasbant Singh, Associated Press/Kuala Lumpur

The family of a top Malaysian terror suspect killed by police in
Indonesia is resigned to his death but hopes his remains can be
sent home for burial, a spokesman said on Thursday.

Azahari bin Husin, a Malaysian explosives expert accused of
masterminding bombings that have killed hundreds of people in
Indonesia, was shot by members of an elite anti-terror unit
during a raid late on Wednesday on a hide-out in East Java town
of Malang, Indonesian officials said.

Azahari's wife, Noraini, and two children are waiting for DNA
confirmation but have accepted his death, Badaruddin Ismail, an
activist with the rights group Suaram, said after meeting with
the family.

Indonesian police said fingerprinting confirmed that Azahari
was killed.

"Azahari's wife and family members indicated that they
accepted his death as fate. However, if possible, they want to
bring his remains back here for burial," Badaruddin told The
Associated Press.

The family will seek help from the Foreign Ministry to
repatriate his remains for burial according to Muslim rites, he
added.

Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar said Malaysia's
government was willing to help Azahari's family claim his remains
if needed, stressing that it was not an unusual request.

Noraini, who suffers from throat cancer, their 6-year-old son
and 4-year-old daughter have not seen Azahari since the
Australian-trained engineer fled Malaysia in 2001 to escape a
crackdown on Islamic militants.

Noraini on Thursday refused to speak to reporters waiting
outside her home in Malaysia's largest city, Kuala Lumpur. Her
family later called the police, who ordered the group of about a
dozen journalists to disperse.

A neighbor, Shuib Supian, said he was not shocked by news of
Azahari's death because the former university lecturer had been
on the run for many years. But he did not believe Azahari was a
terrorist.

Shuib, 80, said they last met at a neighborhood mosque more
than four years ago, where Azahari "spoke mainly about religious
teachings, but he did not preach to us to join in any jihad or
anything like that."

Azahari's death will be a major blow to the al-Qaeda-linked
Jemaah Islamiyah regional terror network, of which he is believed
to be a key member, analysts said.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said he thought
Azahari's death is "a major setback for JI, but it doesn't mean
they cannot regroup."

"We have to be as alert and relentless as possible in our
effort to wipe out terrorism in this region," he told reporters.

A senior Malaysian security official said Indonesia's success
in tracking down Azahari after a four-year manhunt was the result
of close cooperation and intelligence exchanges between the two
countries.

"The dossier on Azahari was constantly updated ... even down
to how he walked. We had a good idea on how he operated after the
second bombing in Bali," the official, who demanded anonymity,
told The Associated Press.

Azahari is accused of being behind the 2002 bombings on
Indonesia's Bali island that killed 202 people, and last month's
restaurant blasts on the same island that claimed 23 lives.