Armed Indonesian police stormed a militant hideout early today in a raid that killed fugitive terror mastermind Noordin Mohammed Top and three other militants, police said.
Noordin's body was among four recovered after the early morning raid on a village house in Central Java, national police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri told reporters, bringing to an end an exhaustive six-year manhunt.
"From national police doctors' examinations, antemortem (investigations) and finger prints sent by Malaysian police ... it's Noordin M Top," Mr Danuri said to applause.
Loud explosions and gunfire were heard as police raided the rented house at around sunrise after a nine-hour siege on the outskirts of Solo city, a stronghold of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) radical network.
The raid left the simple house in the lush, densely populated region a burnt-out shell.
Mr Danuri said police from an elite unit known as Special Detachment 88 launched the raid after interrogating two Noordin acolytes arrested nearby on Wednesday afternoon.
"Despite repeated warnings to surrender there was a firefight. A motorcycle was hit, caught fire and they took refuge by huddling in the bathroom," Mr Danuri said.
"But our men breached the wall as morning prayers came, at around 5 or 6am we carried out a quick operation in three hours and we managed to disable them."
Mr Danuri said those killed along with Noordin were "expert bomb-maker" Bagus Budi Pranoto, alias Urwah, a close Noordin associate Ario Sudarso, alias Aji, and the tenant of the house, Susilo.
He said two men were also arrested and Susilo's wife, who was wounded in the raid, was also in custody.
Police found 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of explosive powder already "prepared" by the militants as well as loaded M-16 assault rifles, laptops and surveillance equipment inside the house, he said.
Noordin, a 41-year-old Malaysian who was South East Asia's most-wanted man, led a radical splinter faction of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network blamed for a string of deadly attacks.
The offshoot, labelled al Qa'eda in the Malay Archipelago, is suspected of being behind the July 17 suicide attacks on Jakarta's JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels.
The bombings, which killed seven people including six foreigners, were the first major attacks in Indonesia in nearly four years.
"It's a major blow for terrorism in Indonesia generally. I think Noordin was the person most single-mindedly devoted to pursuing the al Qa'eda line in Indonesia," the International Crisis Group analyst Sidney Jones said.
"I don't think we can conclude that the problem is over and done with because there are a number of fugitives who are still at large, and some of whom could fill Noordin's shoes. Unquestionably, Noodin's network will be severely weakened but it may not disappear."
Noordin allegedly also masterminded a 2003 attack on the Marriott that killed 12 people, as well as the Australian embassy bombing and 2005 attacks on tourist restaurants on the holiday island of Bali.
*AFP
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Meydan card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 (PA) Group 1 US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm: Conditions (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,400m
7.40pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) $100,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,200m
8.50pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 (TB) Group 2 $350,000 (D) 1,600m
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Specs
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Mumbai Indians 213/6 (20 ov)
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
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TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The biog
Fast facts on Neil Armstrong’s personal life:
- Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio
- He earned his private pilot’s license when he was 16 – he could fly before he could drive
- There was tragedy in his married life: Neil and Janet Armstrong’s daughter Karen died at the age of two in 1962 after suffering a brain tumour. She was the couple’s only daughter. Their two sons, Rick and Mark, consulted on the film
- After Armstrong departed Nasa, he bought a farm in the town of Lebanon, Ohio, in 1971 – its airstrip allowed him to tap back into his love of flying
- In 1994, Janet divorced Neil after 38 years of marriage. Two years earlier, Neil met Carol Knight, who became his second wife in 1994
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Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Match info
Who: India v Afghanistan
What: One-off Test match, Bengaluru
When: June 14 to 18
TV: OSN Sports Cricket HD, 8am starts
Online: OSN Play (subscribers only)
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan v Juventus
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