Death of Azahari confirmed by tests

Death of Azahari confirmed by tests

The Jakarta Post, Malang/Semarang/Surakarta/Jakarta

Fingerprinting has confirmed the death of Azahari bin Husin, a
bombmaker blamed for the deadliest terror attacks in the region,
during a gun battle with police.

National Police chief Gen. Sutanto said on Thursday the prints
had proved Azahari was one of two terrorists killed during the
raid on Wednesday night in a housing complex in Batu area,
Malang. Azahari was either shot dead or killed when a fellow
militant exploded a bomb.

Gen. Sutanto said the study of two comparative sets of
Azahari's fingerprints proved them to be identical. Azahari's
body was severed around the legs and the torso. The police said
Azahari was apparently trying to blow himself up in the gun
battle, but the "Demolition Man" was shot before he could
detonate the bomb. Police earlier said they found 30 bombs inside
the house located in the hilly area of Batu, Malang.

The Malaysian national, who held a doctorate from a university
in Great Britain, was suspected to have masterminded major
attacks on Western targets in Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali
blasts, which killed 202 people, mostly tourists. He was also
believed to be a key member of the al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah
Islamiyah.

Bali Police chief Insp. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika, who led
investigations into both bombings on the island, said the raid
had helped shed light into the latest bomb attack on Bali on Oct.
1, which killed 23 people, including three suicide bombers.

The two-star general said Azahari had definitely played a role
in the bloody attack.

"It is clear there is a link, the Oct. 1 Bali bombings in Kuta
and Jimbaran were conducted by this (East Java) group," he said,
quoted as saying by AFP.

Police sources earlier said Arman, Azahari's operative who was
reportedly killed during Wednesday's raid, was the bombmaker for
the Kuta and Jimbaran attacks.

In a separate development, National Police Headquarters
disclosed they had identified two of the three suicide bombers
who perpetrated the Bali blasts in October.

The two were identified through DNA tests, said National
Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Aryanto Budihardjo.

Meanwhile, soon after the death of Azahari was confirmed,
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono congratulated the National
Police for the successful raid. Through presidential spokesman
Andi Mallarangeng, the President said the police should now focus
on capturing Azahari's accomplice Noordin M. Top, who reportedly
escaped police arrest on Wednesday in Semarang city, Central
Java.

Separately in Semarang, the police's antiterror squad
continued its investigation into Dwi Widiyanto, who was suspected
to be one of Azahari operatives in Semarang. Dwi was reportedly
arrested during a police raid on Wednesday in the city. A day
later the police raided a house belonged to Dwi's father and two
cell phone shops belonged to Dwi. The police took away several
documents from the phone shops, including a book titled "Islam
Needs a Strong Youth: Am I a Good Listener?."

Earlier, the police also discovered in Dwi's house in Kinibalu
area in Semarang some documents, including a transcript of an
interview between Osama bin Laden and a CNN reporter dated May
11, 1997 titled Osama bin Laden: Holy Terror.

Elsewhere, the National Police said on Thursday they would not
pay out the billion-rupiah (US$100,000) reward promised last
month for information leading to the arrest of Azahari. National
Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Sunarko DA said the bounty would be
kept intact as the police tracked down the terrorist by
themselves.

The reward is believed to be the largest ever offered by
Indonesian Police, who pledged the same amount of cash for
information leading to the capture of Azahari's suspected
partner-in-crime, Noordin M. Top.

Azahari was tracked down as a "result of police analyses and
investigations, so the reward does not apply," Sunarko told AFP.