Indonasia, September 17: Indonasia’s most wanted Islamic militant, Noordin Mohammad Top, has died during a police raid on a house in Central Java, police say.
Malaysian-born Top, who set up a violent splinter group of the regional militant group, Jemaah Islamiah, was widely considered the mastermind behind bomb attacks on two luxury hotels in Jakarta in July which killed seven people, including three Australians.
He was also suspected of other attacks in Bali and Jakarta which killed scores of Westerners and Indonesians.
National police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri, when asked if it was true that Top had been killed, told reporters: “Yes, yes yes.”
The police chief’s confirmation followed a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Local media, quoting police sources, had trumpeted Top’s death last month during a police raid in Central Java, only to have forensic tests prove that wrong days later.
“Major blow”
A senior police source said that Top’s body had been identified from fingerprint tests.
“It’s clearly a major success for the police if, in fact, it turns out to be him, and would be a major blow to terrorist networks not only in Indonesia but in the region,” Sidney Jones, an expert on Islamic militants with the International Crisis Group, said before police confirmed Top’s death.
Another police source said that Top had blown himself up, and that while his body was badly damaged, his head was intact. A security analyst said Top typically strapped explosives to his body so that he could avoid capture.
National police spokesman Nanan Soekarna said three people had been captured in the 10am (AEST) raid on the house near Solo, including the wife of the man renting the house and two others, who were detained earlier.
Police have been searching for several people believed to be behind the near-simultaneous attacks on the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels on July 17.
Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, has been under intense pressure to capture or kill Top ahead of a planned visit by US President Barack Obama in November.
—Agencies