Indonesia's most wanted man killed in police raid (Noordin Mohammad Top. This time they got him.)

Reuters on Yahoo ^ | 9/17/09 | Muklis Ali and Olivia Rondonuwu

[NormsRevenge]

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia's most wanted Islamist militant was killed in a police shoot-out in Central Java, police said on Thursday, lifting a major security threat ahead of a planned visit by U.S. President Barack Obama.

Malaysian-born Noordin Mohammad Top, who set up a violent splinter group of regional militant network Jemaah Islamiah, was widely considered the mastermind of the bomb attacks on two luxury hotels in Jakarta in July, as well as other attacks in Bali and in Jakarta which killed scores of Westerners and Indonesians.

National police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri announced Top's death at a news conference, triumphantly holding up photos to show the match between Top's fingerprints and those on police file, as reporters and police in the room cheered.

He said police had also seized documents, laptops and weapons in the raid.

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.

[NormsRevenge]

Indonesian National police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri shows the match between Noordin Mohammad Top's fingerprints and those on police file during a news conference in Jakarta September 17, 2009. Mohammad Top, was killed in a police shoot-out in Central Java, police said on Thursday, lifting a major security threat ahead of a planned visit by U.S, President Barack Obama. REUTERS/Crack Palinggi (INDONESIA CONFLICT CRIME LAW)

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Leading Islamic militant Noordin Mohammad Top is seen in a wanted poster at a police station in Malang, East Java in this August 8, 2009 file photo. A senior Indonesian police source told Reuters that fingerprint tests from one of the four people killed in a police raid in Central Java matched those of Indonesia's most-wanted Islamic militant, Noordin Mohammad Top. Malaysian-born Top, who set up a violent splinter group of regional militant group Jemaah Islamiah, is suspected by police to be the mastermind behind bomb attacks on two luxury hotels in Jakarta in July, as well as other attacks in Bali and in Jakarta. REUTERS/Handout/Files (INDONESIA CONFLICT POLITICS CRIME LAW)

[DemonDeac]

Seems like these most wanted folks get got all the time and it rarely seems to make a difference. Every week we read about some elite terrorist dying and another springs up. Its like whack-a-mole.

[Retired Greyhound]

Obama’s home country.

How wonderful.

[angkor]

Good. Here’s an earlier version from the Jakarta Post:

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/09/17/police-say-four-dead-solo-antiterror-raid.html

Police say four dead in Solo anti-terror raid

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 09/17/2009 11:53 AM | Headlines

The National Police has said four people have died while three others have been arrested during an anti-terror raid in Solo early Thursday.

The Police spokesperson Ins. Gen. Nanan Soekarna said that the four residents died when the anti-terror team was raiding a house in Kepok Sari village in Solo.

“And three people, including a woman, are undergoing police investigation at the Solo police office,” Nanan told kompas.com.

[csvset]

I read that they retrieved his laptop. With any luck it will provide some good intel.

[Red Badger]

Top is on the bottom now................

[angkor]

By now they are smart enough to encrypt their laptops, but a good team with first class resources should be able to deal with that and other evasive measures.

[PGalt]

OUTSTANDING news! Thanks for posting. Hooray police in Central Java!

[dools007]

Gee, I’m surprised. This Top guy was not even Indonesian. I simply can’t believe the so-called Indonesian Militants are not a home born and staffed little people. All they want to do is exercise their right to free speech rights. Occasionally that requires killing innocent people to make their point.

[Dog]

This will set back AQ southeast Asia operations for years...most of the senior leadership died with Top in the raid.

This was a HUGE victory.

[ridesthemiles]

Obama’s home country.

How wonderful.”

Does he have to go there to renew his Indonesian Passport?

[Publius6961]

BUMP!

[Cindy]

ON THE INTERNET:

LONG WAR JOURNAL.org: "SOUTHEAST ASIA'S MOST WANTED TERRORIST KILLED IN JAVA RAID" by Bill Roggio and Nick Grace contributed to this report. (SNIPPET: "...Noordin Mohammed Top...") (September 17, 2009, 8:03 am)

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LONG WAR JOURNAL.org: "INDONESIAN POLICE CONFIRM NOORDIN MOHAMMED TOP IS ALIVE" by Bill Roggio (August 12, 2009, 1:16 am)

REWARDS FOR JUSTICE.net: "WANTED NOORDIN MOHAMMAD TOP"

LONG WAR JOURNAL.org: "INDONESIAN POLICE 'VERY CONFIDENT' NOORDIN M. TOP DEAD" by Nick Grace (August 10, 2009, 12:15 am)

LONG WAR JOURNAL.org: "MYSTERY OVER NOORDIN MOHAMMED TOP THICKENS" by Nick Grace (August 9, 2009, 9:40 am)

LONG WAR JOURNAL.org: "NOORDIN MOHAMMED TOP DEAD, MAJOR ATTACK AVERTED" by Nick Grace (SNIPPET: "Noordin Mohammed Top, Asia's most wanted terrorist, committed suicide after a 12-hour standoff with Indonesian police in a remote farm house in Central Java. Police made visual confirmation of Top through cameras attached to remote control robots that were deployed into the house and watched as he fled into a bathroom and, surrounded by a woman and three children, blew himself up, Metro TV reported. The explosion occurred at 8 AM Saturday local-time (9 PM EDT Friday) and was carried on live television. Top was a senior leader in Jemaah Islamiyah and was originally from Malaysia. He was known as a top recruiter, strategist, and fundraiser, and was behind the most deadly terror attacks in Indonesia.") (August 7, 2009, 9:07 pm)

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COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org - NEFA FOUNDATION: "TEXT OF WEB COMMUNIQUE CLAIMING JAKARTA BOMBINGS" by Ean Kohlmann (August 3, 2009, 10:14)

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THE JAWA REPORT: "AL-QAEDA'S ...BLOG?" (July 29, 2009)

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THE JAKARTA GLOBE.com: "POLICE ARREST JAKARTA BLAST SUSPECT WITH FOLLOW-UP BOMB" (SNIPPET: "...identified only as Achmady, in Cilacap. He said Achmady was recruited by Noordin in 2001.") (July 24, 2009)

REWARDS FOR JUSTICE.net: "WANTED NOORDIN MOHAMMAD TOP"

COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org: "MAKING SENSE OF THE JAKARTA BOMBINGS: THE SHADES OF GREY" by Zachary Abuza (July 23, 2009)

CNS NEWS.com (AP): Jakarta, Indonesia - "EXPLOSIVES USED IN HOTEL BOMBING 'IDENTICAL' TO THOSE USED IN BALI" (July 20, 2009)

JIHAD WATCH.org (TIME via YAHOO News): "LAX SECURITY AT BOMBED JAKARTA HOTELS SHOWS THE PRICE OF COMPLACENCY" (July 18, 2009)

DAILY MAIL.co.uk: "Captured on Camera: the moment suicide bomber blew himself up in the luxury Indonesian hotel killing eight" by David Williams (Last updated on July 18, 2009, 1:42 am)

COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org: "JAKARTA BOMBINGS HIGHLIGHT IMPORTANCE OF SPLINTER GROUP ANALYSIS AND OF TWITTER" by Jonathan Winer (July 17, 2009)

COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org: "BOMB MAKING MATERIALS FOUND IN INDONESIAN ISLAMIC SCHOOL" by Kenneth Conboy (July 16, 2009)

BBC NEWS: "FATAL BLASTS HIT JAKARTA HOTELS" (Page last updated July 17, 2009, 12:52 UK)

SOUTH ASIA ANALYSIS GROUP - Paper no. 3310: "TERROIRSTS TARGET HOTELS AGAIN -- THIS TIME IN JAKARTA International Terrorism Monitor - Paper no. 543" by B. Raman (July 17, 2009)

OSINT.INTERNET-HAGANAH.com: "JAKARTA - SHADES OF MUMBAI?" (July 17, 2009)

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LONG WAR JOURNAL.org: "INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY IN JAKARTA FOLLOWING TERROR STRIKES, NOORDIN TOP SUSPECTED" by Nick Grace (July 17, 2009, 5:45 pm (PHOTO CAPTION: "The head of the JW Marriott hotel bomber, who was identified as Nurdin Aziz.") (July 17, 2009, 5:45 pm)

REWARDS FOR JUSTICE.net: "WANTED NOORDIN MOHAMMAD TOP"

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LONG WAR JOURNAL: "TWIN BLASTS ROCK TWO HOTELS IN INDONESIAN CAPITAL" by Bill Roggio (SNIPPET: "No group has taken credit for the bombings, but Al Qaeda affiliate Jemaah Islamiyah and the Tanzim Qaedat al-Jihad,a splinter group of Jemaah Islamiyah, are the prime suspects. The targets of the attack - foreigners at posh hotels - and the mode of the attack - near-simultaneous detonations - match the profile of attacks used by the al Qaeda-affiliated groups.") (July 16, 2009, 9:52 pm)