Two most wanted terrorist suspects still pose threat

Two most wanted terrorist suspects still pose threat

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The top two most wanted terrorist suspects in the country,
Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohd, are likely to carry out
terrorist attacks while on the run, police told the press on
Monday.

The National Police detective chief Com. Gen. Erwin Mappaseng
said here Monday that based on the confessions of accomplices
Tohir and Ismail, fugitives Azahari and Noordin could launch more
attacks if they were assisted by other group members.

Both men are allegedly members of regional terrorist group
Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), which is linked to Osama bin Laden's
international terrorist group, al-Queda.

"Even though most of the suspects have been detained, they can
recruit new members to help them carry out their actions," said
Mappaseng.

Mappaseng said that both Azahari and Noordin had planned to
bomb several places in Bandung, including one foreign bank on Jl.
Asia-Africa, one of the busiest office buildings in the city.

"The place is not in Dago as I mentioned previously but on Jl.
Asia-Africa. We have searched the area and other places. We
cannot specify the places as people might panic," he said.

Both Azahari and Noordin narrowly escaped arrest at their
rented rooms in Bandung, West Java, last Thursday. They 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.

Azahari, an expert in bomb-making, is believed to have
masterminded the Bali bombings in which at least 202 people were
killed and the JW Marriott Hotel bombing in which 12 people died.

The police have arrested around 100 extremists, including more
than 30 implicated in the Bali bombings case and 12 in the
Marriot attack.

The police also distributed new pictures of Noordin and the
latest four sketches of Azahari. The pictures of Noordin were
taken two weeks before the police raided the rented room on Jl.
Kembangan, Bandung.

"The main (identifiable) characteristics of the two are their
Malay dialects. Others, such as moustaches and beards can be
hidden or cut. But Azahari must wear thick-lensed glasses because
he can see without them," said Mappaseng.

Mappaseng said that the explosive that the fugitives were
carrying were not powerful enough to carry out large-scale
attacks. They said that the police had already uncovered powerful
bombs accounting for most of the explosive materials that the
group were thought to have possessed.

"We found four bombs which were ready to explode and two that
had been wired, and we found 3.5 kg of the total of 5 kg TNT that
we believed they had left. They had used the 1.5 kg before,
including what they strapped to their bodies," said Erwin.

"These materials are the only explosives left after their
attacks on several places since 2000, including Bali and Hotel
Marriott," added Erwin.

As part of the manhunt, security personnel have been deployed
around Merak harbor in Serang, Banten since Saturday. The
security personnel are equipped with metal detectors to check
passengers.

Meanwhile at least 3,000 police personnel in Cirebon, the city
in West Java where both Tohir and Ismail were nabbed by the
police, have been ready to help hunt the fugitives and guard
vital and strategic places on the East Java north coast.

The operation is also aimed at securing hotels, amusement
centers and other places frequented by expatriates in Cirebon.

"Besides which, we will conduct spot-checks of public
transport," said City Police chief Sr. Comr Sunaryono.

He also said that the police were patrolling the border
between West Java and Central Java to stop the fugitives from
crossing it.