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Hunt for Top escalated after Azahari killed
Police said they were narrowing in on a Southeast Asia terror ringleader Friday, with thousands of troops going door-to-door, checking cars, and combing railway and bus stations in central Indonesia.The hunt for Malaysian fugitive Noordin Mohamad Top, believed to be a key member of the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, follows the death of his close ally Azahari bin Husin, who was killed in a police raid on Wednesday. The discovery of more than 30 bombs inside Azahari's hideout, many of them small devices easily contained in backpacks, set off speculation that Jemaah Islamiyah was planning more terror strikes and added urgency to the hunt. Jemaah Islamiyah wants to establish an Islamic state spanning Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the southern Philippines. Former members say it is motivated in part by anger at U.S. foreign policy in the Muslim world, Azahari was noted for his bomb-making skills and his death was a blow to the group, but security experts cautioned that several key Jemaah Islamiyah figures remain on the run. Top is seen as the group's real strategist and one of its main recruiters. ``We're moving in on Noordin,'' said Maj. Gen. Ansyaad Mbai, the country's anti-terror chief. ``It's only a matter of time before we catch him.'' Troops were scouring bus terminals and railway stations in Central Java province and going door-to-door in some places, said police spokesman Maj. Gen. Aryanto Budihardjo. Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-11-11 |
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