Azahari killed in raid
Azahari killed in raid
The Jakarta Post, Malang/Jakarta
Fugitive bombmaker Azahari bin Husin, who is blamed for three
major terror attacks in the country in the past three years, was
killed in a police raid on a house believed to be his hideout in
the hilly area of Batu in the East Java town of Malang on
Wednesday, police say.
Azahari's Malaysian compatriot Noordin M. Top, however,
escaped arrest.
National Police chief Gen. Sutanto said three terror suspects
apparently blew themselves up following a shoot-out with the
antiterror police squad led by National Police deputy chief of
detectives Insp. Gen. Gorries Mere.
"Confirmation of Azahari's death can only be ascertained
tomorrow (Thursday)," Sutanto said. "We will make every effort to
identify the three through the use of DNA and showing the bodies
to witnesses who know Azahari."
He said, however, one man who was arrested in the raid
confirmed that Azahari was killed. The man has been identified as
Suwandi, a native of Sidoarjo in East Java who police believe to
be a new recruit of Azahari.
Senior journalist Karni Ilyas who was at the scene said two
members of the antiterror squad recognized the face of Azahari
although his body was in pieces.
Karni told station ANteve that Azahari killed himself after a
shoot-out with the police. "He blew himself up together with the
house," said Karni, who is also ANteve's news chief editor.
Sutanto said the raid on Wednesday followed the arrest of a
man identified by his initials as CH in Semarang, who led the
police to Azahari's hideout in Batu.
Sutanto said the exchange of fire started when the men refused
to surrender to the police.
"They shot first and hit a police officer who was wounded," he
said, referring to Brig. Komaruddin.
Local residents said the gun battle began without warning.
Around 11 people were believed to be staying in the house on Jl.
Flamboyan when the police raided it, police said.
Sutanto said there were 11 blasts, after the gunfight.
"The last one appears to have been a suicide. They (the three)
all died."
He said the bodies would be left in the house and police would
not enter until any explosives were detonated by the bomb squad.
Karni said that, apart from Azahari, one of the three men
killed in the raid was a new recruit who had assembled the bomb
that exploded in Raja's bar and restaurant in Kuta on the resort
island of Bali on Oct. 1. Terrorists also attacked two
restaurants in the Jimbaran area, also in Bali, that day.
Azahari and Noordin are believed to have masterminded the
first bomb attack on Bali in 2002, the bombing of the J.W.
Marriott Hotel in South Jakarta in 2003 and the blast in front of
Australian Embassy in South Jakarta in 2004. The three attacks
claimed 225 lives in total.
Believed to be in his mid-40s, Azahari, who holds a doctorate
from the University of Reading in Great Britain, is a top
operative of the al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah terror network
that aims to set up a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, Central Java Police arrested on Wednesday evening
Dwi Widiyanto, 30, for his alleged role in recent bombings across
the country. Dwi, who is believed to be member of Azahari's
group, was arrested at his home in Pedurungan, Semarang.
In the operation led by Semarang Police chief Sr. Comr.
Suhartono, the police also detained four people in the
neighborhood, including Dwi's father and stepfather. The other
two were Dwi's neighbors.
The police arrested earlier in the day Puji in Genuk district,
Semarang. Puji was also accused of being an operative of Azahari.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono directly received the
report on the raid from Sutanto and is closely monitoring the
progress of the investigation, presidential spokesman Andi
Mallarangeng said.
The President also ordered the chief security minister,
National Police chief and East Java Police chief to take the
necessary measures and enforce the law against terror suspects.
In his directive, the President asked the three officials to
coordinate and provide accurate information to the public.