Police say bomb suspect Azahari still in Bandung

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung

Intelligence suggests that key terror suspect Dr. Azahari is still in Bandung, according to the Bandung metropolitan police.

Sr. Comr. Hendra Sukmana, the chief of Bandung Police, said the city's security status had been increased to top alert and he had advised Bandung Mayor Dada Rosada to instruct all neighborhood chiefs in the city to enforce the registration of all guests staying at people's homes for more than 24 hours.

Hendra also suggested that Bandung residents revive nightly patrols in their neighborhoods to maintain security.

"We recently received credible information that he is still in the city. We cannot afford to miss another arrest and are hunting for him," he said.

Hendra refused to disclose the source of information.

Azahari is a suspect in last year's JW Marriott bombing that killed 12 people. He and fellow Malaysian Noordin Mohd. Top are also suspected of involvement in the Bali bombing two years ago.

Two other accomplices, Tohir and Ismail, were arrested and testified in court that both Azahari and Noordin had planned the Marriott bombing while living in Cigadung, north Bandung.

Asmar Latin Sani, who died in the Marriott bombing, also attended meetings at the house.

After the bombing, Azahari and Noordin moved to another rented house in Tamansari, Bandung, near the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

Police raided the house in October, but the two had already fled. TNT was found in the house.

Hendra said all Bandung residents should help search for the two suspects, as they were a threat to the community.

If they are not arrested soon, they could recruit more bombers and target public areas in the city.

Last year, police distributed leaflets bearing the photographs of two of the most wanted men -- Azahari and Noordin -- in hotels and public places in Bandung, as they appealed for the public's help to track down the terrorist suspects.

Hotel managements in Bandung, meanwhile, blamed Azahari and Noordin for the sudden drop in hotel occupancy rates in the city.

Besides the two suspects, other fugitives include Dulmatin, who allegedly helped in the Bali bomb construction, and Zulkarnaen, whom police have called a "mastermind" of the Bali attacks.

Dulmatin, who remains at large, is an explosives expert who was trained by Azahari and also allegedly played a prominent role in the bomb attacks.

The attacks have been blamed on al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terror network, which is also accused of a string of other attacks.

Police have managed to capture over 30 people, including masterminds Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Mukhlas in the Bali bombing case. Most of them have been tried and three have been sentenced to death while others received long jail sentences, including life imprisonment.