Ex-intelligence officer doubts Noordin killed in shootout

JAKARTA: Police scrambled to identify the body of a suspected terrorist killed in a farmhouse gunbattle after discovering a plot to kill Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in a suicide car bombing.

Forensics teams planned to collect DNA samples from family members of regional terror mastermind Noordin Mat Top, who was reportedly killed during a 16-hour shootout with officers in central Java on Saturday, said government anti-terrorism advisor Dynno Chressbon.

One of Noordin’s wives and three children were travelling to this capital to provide the samples, he said, adding that Malaysian authorities were also coming to Indonesia to assist in the identification.

Noordin, a Malaysian, is blamed for some of the deadliest terrorist attacks in South-East Asia in recent years and had been suspected of planning last month’s suicide bombings at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels here, which killed seven people. Serious doubts were raised yesterday that a massive manhunt for Noordin had come to a close after seven years.

“We cannot yet confirm that this is Noordin Top,” said national police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri.

Chressbon expressed scepticism that Noordin was killed, citing comments from former militants that a militant leader would never have been left alone at a hide-out.

Only one body was recovered from the scene.

“I doubt that the victim is the suspected terrorist Noordin Top,” said former intelligence officer Gen Abdullah Hendropriyono.

“It is impossible for a terrorist like Noordin to walk or stay alone, without guards,” he told Indonesia’s MetroTV.

“If he is just alone it is hard to believe. As an analyst, I bet it is not Noordin.”

Widespread media reports of Noordin’s death, which were attributed to anonymous police officers, were largely retracted yesterday.

On Saturday, police also raided a house, just 5km from the president’s residence, where they killed two suspected militants and seized bombs and a car rigged to carry them, said Hendarso.

He said Noordin and other militants had decided, at an April 30 meeting, to bomb Susilo’s home because the government executed three convicted Bali bombers.-The Star

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