Sabah police on the hunt for Azahari and Noordin

Sabah police on the hunt for Azahari and Noordin

Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur

Police are searching along eastern Malaysia's border with
Indonesia for two fugitives believed to have masterminded this
month's Bali bombings, a news report said on Wednesday.

Malaysians Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohamad Top are wanted
for a series of attacks in Indonesia, including the Oct. 1 blasts
at three Bali restaurants that killed 23 people, including three
bombers, and injured more than 100.

"We are on the lookout for Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohamad
Top ... we are coordinating with the Indonesians," Sabah police
commissioner Mangsor Ismail was quoted as saying by The Star
newspaper.

Authorities are focusing their hunt for Azahari and Noordin --
alleged leaders of Southeast Asian terror group Jamaah Islamiyah
-- along the border in eastern Sabah state on Borneo island,
which Malaysia shares with Indonesia and Brunei.

Mangsor declined to comment when asked if the duo could have
slipped into Sabah.

Mangsor and Sabah police could not immediately be reached for
comment.

Azahari and Noordin fled Malaysia in 2001 amid a crackdown on
Islamic militants and are also wanted in connection with the 2002
bombings on Bali that killed 202 people, as well as other attacks
in Indonesia over the past three years.

Indonesian police say the two have escaped capture by renting
cheap houses in densely populated areas and using nearby back
alleys for quick escapes.

Police have bolstered patrols around embassies and tourist
attractions in Malaysia following the Oct. 1 suicide attack in
Bali.

The government has said there were no terrorist cells actively
operating in Malaysia but pledged to step up vigilance to prevent
any terrorists from infiltrating the country to plot attacks.