TOM ALLARD HERALD CORRESPONDENT IN JAKARTA
18/09/2009 11:24:00 AM
INDONESIA'S most wanted man, the terrorist leader Noordin Mohammed Top, has been killed after a lengthy and violent siege, Indonesia's police chief said yesterday.
Noordin was shot dead by police in an exchange of gunfire early yesterday morning, shortly before an explosion ripped through the hideout on the outskirts of Solo in Central Java just as police approached it.
Three others were killed in the raid, including a militant who blew himself up with a bomb.
The demise of the man responsible for murdering scores of civilians, including many Australians, and masterminding the second Bali bombing, removes a major security threat that has bedevilled Indonesia for seven years. But counter-terrorism experts warned terrorism was likely to remain a problem in Indonesia.
The dramatic raid by heavily armed counter-terrorism police began at about 11pm on Wednesday, local time, and concluded in the early hours yesterday.
Noordin was identified by fingerprints, the police chief, Bambang Hendarso Danuri, said. He said Noordin had grown a long beard during his time on the run.
''This is a month full of blessings,'' said General Danuri, referring to Ramadan, as he announced the news.
In a major coup for Indonesian authorities, among the three other dead were two of Noordin's most senior lieutenants, Urwah and Ario Sudarso. The fourth man killed was Susilo, the owner of the dilapidated house being used as a hideout by the terrorists.
All of them were believed to have planned the bombings on two luxury Jakarta hotels in July that killed seven bystanders, including three Australians.
Three other suspected militants were arrested in the raid, including a pregnant woman who was in the house with the four deceased. A police officer was wounded.
Two hundred kilos of potassium used for bomb-making were recovered from the house, along with ammunition, weapons, grenades and several ready-to-use bombs.
Noordin - a Malaysian accountancy graduate who split with Jemaah Islamiah to form his own hardline terrorist outfit - is suspected of masterminding a string of attacks.
They include the first Marriott hotel bombing in 2003, the Australian embassy bombing in 2004, the triple suicide attacks in Bali in 2005 and July's hotel bombings.
He is also believed to have attended key planning meetings for the first Bali attacks in 2002 that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
The raid yesterday echoes a similar high-profile shoot-out last month in Temanggung in Central Java, when police also believed they killed Noordin.
Instead, it turned out to be another militant, Ibrahim, a florist who worked at the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels that were bombed in July.
The case of mistaken identity deeply embarrassed Indonesia, enhancing Noordin's almost mythic reputation for evading capture after seven years on the run from the most intense manhunt in the country's history.
Police were led to the home in Kepuh Sari after they arrested Rohmat Puji Prabowo at a market in Solo earlier on Wednesday.
Al Chaider, a senior member of the fundamentalist Darul Islam movement, said the threat from violent jihadists would remain in Indonesia despite Noordin's death.
''The proliferation of terrorist networks continues. They may retreat for a year or two to build up strength again. After that they may launch another attack,'' he said, before adding: ''The money still flows in.''
Sidney Jones, the terrorism expert from the International Crisis Group, agreed: ''There are people around Noordin who are still fugitives and they could resume operations.'' Still at large are Saifuddin Jaelani, the cleric who recruited suicide bombers for July's attacks in Jakarta.
Noordin was identified by fingerprints, the police chief, Bambang Hendarso Danuri, said. He said Noordin had grown a long beard during his time on the run.
''This is a month full of blessings,'' said General Danuri, referring to Ramadan, as he announced the news.
In a major coup for Indonesian authorities, among the three other dead were two of Noordin's most senior lieutenants, Urwah and Ario Sudarso. The fourth man killed was Susilo, the owner of the dilapidated house being used as a hideout by the terrorists.
All of them were believed to have planned the bombings on two luxury Jakarta hotels in July that killed seven bystanders, including three Australians.
Three other suspected militants were arrested in the raid, including a pregnant woman who was in the house with the four deceased. A police officer was wounded.
Two hundred kilos of potassium used for bomb-making were recovered from the house, along with ammunition, weapons, grenades and several ready-to-use bombs.
Noordin - a Malaysian accountancy graduate who split with Jemaah Islamiah to form his own hardline terrorist outfit - is suspected of masterminding a string of attacks.
They include the first Marriott hotel bombing in 2003, the Australian embassy bombing in 2004, the triple suicide attacks in Bali in 2005 and July's hotel bombings.
He is also believed to have attended key planning meetings for the first Bali attacks in 2002 that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
The raid yesterday echoes a similar high-profile shoot-out last month in Temanggung in Central Java, when police also believed they killed Noordin.
Instead, it turned out to be another militant, Ibrahim, a florist who worked at the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels that were bombed in July.
The case of mistaken identity deeply embarrassed Indonesia, enhancing Noordin's almost mythic reputation for evading capture after seven years on the run from the most intense manhunt in the country's history.
Police were led to the home in Kepuh Sari after they arrested Rohmat Puji Prabowo at a market in Solo earlier on Wednesday.
Al Chaider, a senior member of the fundamentalist Darul Islam movement, said the threat from violent jihadists would remain in Indonesia despite Noordin's death.
''The proliferation of terrorist networks continues. They may retreat for a year or two to build up strength again. After that they may launch another attack,'' he said, before adding: ''The money still flows in.''
Sidney Jones, the terrorism expert from the International Crisis Group, agreed: ''There are people around Noordin who are still fugitives and they could resume operations.'' Still at large are Saifuddin Jaelani, the cleric who recruited suicide bombers for July's attacks in Jakarta.