Azahari studied in Britain: University

Azahari studied in Britain: University

ENGLAND: One of the suspected masterminds of the October 2002 Bali bombings which killed 202 people obtained a doctorate in Britain, the university confirmed on Sunday.

Azahari bin Husin, 48, believed to be a key leader in the Al- Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah Islamic extremist group and the organization's top explosives expert, obtained a degree in land management from the University of Reading, the establishment said in a statement.

"Azahari Husin, wanted in connection with the Bali bombing, studied for a doctorate at the University of Reading in the late 1980s in what was then the Department of Land Management, which is now the Department of Real Estate and Planning," it said.

"In 1990, he submitted his Ph D thesis, which was in the subject area of real estate. The broad topic of his thesis was house prices in Malaysia.

"When Azahari Husin was at Reading, he appeared to be a completely normal student. It is not thought he maintained any contact with the University once he had completed his thesis."

Investigators looking into Saturday's bombing in Bali that killed at least 22 people and wounded more than 100 said it looked like the work of the Malaysian-born Husin and Jamaah Islamiyah. -- AFP