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.