 Indonesian police raided a house Friday where one of the suspected masterminds of last week's Bali bombings was believed to be hiding out, but the Malaysian fugitive fled three hours earlier, officials said. | I see Mahmoud the Rat has a Indonesian relative |
The pre-dawn raid occurred at a house in central Java province used by Noordin Mohamed Top, police said. "We can confirm it was him," said Abdul Madjid, a police chief in the province. Noordin, 35, is one of two Malaysians accused of planning Saturday's near-simultaneous suicide bombings on three crowded restaurants on the Indonesian resort island that killed 22, including the bombers. More than 100 people were wounded. The other suspected mastermind is Azahari bin Husin. Both are believed to be key leaders of the regional al-Qaida-linked group Jemaah Islamiyah. Both men also were allegedly behind the 2002 nightclub Bali nightclub bombings, which killed 202 people, and suicide attacks in Jakarta in 2004 and 2003 that killed 23. The pair has eluded capture for years by renting cheap houses in densely populated areas, with nearby back alleys for quick escapes. | They are very good at what they do |
Madjid said police received a tip that Noordin had been staying at the house in Purwantoro for two days when they launched their raid. The operation was supposed to begin at 1 a.m., but police waited several hours because they were worried he was armed with explosives. When they got there, "it was too late," Madjid said. | "Missed him by that much!" |
 Azahari is known as "Demolition Man" for his knowledge of explosives, while Noordin has been dubbed "Moneyman" for his ability to raise money and recruit bombers. They are said to be motivated by anger at U.S foreign policy toward the Muslim world, but most of the victims in Saturday night's attacks were Indonesians. Jemaah Islamiyah wants to establish an Islamic state across Southeast Asia.
Indonesia's vice president said Friday that religious leaders must condemn terrorism in the world's most populous Muslim nation. "Suicide bombings in Afghanistan and Iraq are perhaps understandable because there is an 'opponent' there," Yusuf Kalla said after prayers in the capital Jakarta on the Muslim holy day. "But here in Indonesia, it makes no sense. Why do they kill their own people, who have done nothing wrong?" he asked, calling on Islamic leaders to condemn the practice as being "not in line with the religion we hold."
Police have announced few breaks in the investigation, but spokesman Brig. Gen. Sunarko Danu Artanto said Thursday investigators have taken DNA samples from several relatives of the suspected bombers. Photographs of the suspects' severed heads, found yards from the blast sites, have been circulated in the media and shown to several jailed Jemaah Islamiyah members. None claim to recognize them. Bali police chief Maj. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika said the bombers likely were recruited recently for the purpose of carrying out the weekend attacks. "There is an indication they are a new generation," he said Friday.
| Cannon fodder is cheap and readily available |
Ali Imron, imprisoned for his role in the 2002 bombings, told the Jawa Pos newspaper they could be "freshly recruited." Nasir Abbas, who trained scores of militants in the 1990s, told The Associated Press he had never seen them. Identifying the bombers could help police track down the masterminds.
| I doubt it. These two are real "masterminds", they would never have given any information on their hideouts or future plans to lower level contacts. Once the bombers started toward their targets, they hit the road. |
Police said they intended to boost security on the island - already high in the aftermath of the weekend blasts - for a memorial service next Wednesday to mark the third anniversary of the 2002 nightclub bombings. Eighty-eight of the victims were Australians. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer is due to attend the event, details of which have not been released. In previous years, many relatives of those killed and survivors returned to the island for the memorial.
Nobody has claimed responsibility for Saturday night's coordinated attacks, but suspicion immediately fell on Jemaah Islamiyah. If proven, the strikes show how dangerous the group remains despite a regional security crackdown that has arrested hundreds of alleged group members. It also would show that the group apparently has changed tactics, switching to softer targets, smaller bombs and cruder methods. Most previous Jemaah Islamiyah attacks were carried out with car bombs, but Saturday's bombers wore belts or backpacks laden with explosives. | I believe I read somewhere that Bali had banned vehicles from parking in front of clubs. If they find a juicy target that they can get a big car bomb next to, they'll use one. |
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