Public urged to help police find Azahari
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung/Jakarta
Leaflets bearing the photographs of two of the most wanted men -- Azahari bin Hussin and Noordin Mohd. Top -- were distributed in hotels and public places in Bandung, West Java, on Sunday as police appealed for the public's help to track down the terrorist suspects.
Bandung City Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Masguntur Laupe said the leaflets were intended to familiarize the people with the different looks of both Azahari and Noordin, who narrowly escaped arrest at their rented rooms in Bandung, West Java, last Thursday.
"If people know the whereabouts of the two suspects, they at least can inform the police," Masguntur said on Sunday.
Azahari and Noordin are wanted for their alleged roles in two deadly terrorist attacks -- the Bali bombings on Oct. 12, 2002 and the JW Marriott Hotel attack on Aug. 5, 2003.
Both men are alleged members of regional terrorist group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), which is linked to Osama bin Laden's international terrorist group al-Qaeda.
Azahari, an expert in bomb-making, is believed to have masterminded the Bali bombings in which at least 202 were killed and the JW Marriott Hotel bombing in which 12 people died.
As part of the manhunt, security personnel have been deployed around Merak harbor in Serang, West Java, since Saturday. The security personnel are equipped with metal detectors to check passengers.
The police have arrested around 100 suspected extremists, including more than 30 for the Bali bombings and 12 for the Marriott attack.
Three Bali bombers are on death row and 26 have been jailed to terms ranging from life to three years.
Meanwhile in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar called on the public to alert the police if they had any information on the whereabouts of the two terror suspects.
"If people see any suspicious individuals, they should contact a police station," Da'i was quoted by Antara as saying after monitoring the construction of Kendari Police Headquarters on Sunday.
He said the police had stepped up the search for Azahari and Noordin in areas in Central and West Java. Both men are believed to be Malaysian citizens.
Da'i said it would be difficult for Azahari to leave Java because security officers had been deployed at exit points, where travelers are required to show identification before continuing their journeys.
Hotel managements in Bandung, meanwhile, blamed Azahari and Noordin for the sudden drop in hotel occupancy rates in the city.
Officials have warned that JI fugitives were planning further attacks in the near future.
Besides Azahari and Noordin, other fugitives include Dulmatin, who allegedly helped in the Bali bomb construction, and Zulkarnaen, whom police have called a "mastermind" of the Bali attacks.
Azahari's alleged accomplices Tohir and Ismail confessed on Sunday to bombing the Marriott hotel in Jakarta and apologized to families of the victims.
"I admit that I did it. I apologize to the families of the victims sincerely without any pressure from others, and to the Muslim community who have felt stigmatized and the negative impacts of my actions," Tohir told SCTV television.
"I regret it and I apologize," Ismail said.
Tohir and Ismail were arrested on Wednesday in a hotel room in the West Java town of Cirebon.
The two were taken on Sunday from Bandung to Jakarta for further interrogation.