Noordin Mohammad Top, Indonesia’s most-wanted man accused of planning an attack on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, probably escaped a police siege last week, analysts said.
Police killed a militant during a gun battle on Aug. 8 at a house 360 kilometers (224 miles) east of the capital, Jakarta and TVOne and other broadcasters said the man was probably Noordin.
“Police intelligence was accurate, but by the time” they reached the scene Noordin wasn’t there, said Rohan Gunaratna, head of the Singapore-based International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research. “He is a very capable operative.
Gunaratna said the Malaysia-born Noordin is getting support from Jemaah Islamiyah that wants to eliminate Yudhoyono.
Noordin planned the attack on Yudhoyono in April to avenge the death of the three bombers executed last year, National Police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri said
“Police deserve enormous credit” for tracking down the terrorist networks in Bekasi and Temanggung, in Central Java, said Sidney Jones, a security analyst at the International Crisis Group in Jakarta. She also said Noordin may be alive.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation added Noordin’s name to its “Seeking Terrorism Information” list in 2006.
SEE ALSO:
Plot to Kill Indonesian President Foiled – The New York Times
Police killed a militant during a gun battle on Aug. 8 at a house 360 kilometers (224 miles) east of the capital, Jakarta and TVOne and other broadcasters said the man was probably Noordin.
“Police intelligence was accurate, but by the time” they reached the scene Noordin wasn’t there, said Rohan Gunaratna, head of the Singapore-based International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research. “He is a very capable operative.
Gunaratna said the Malaysia-born Noordin is getting support from Jemaah Islamiyah that wants to eliminate Yudhoyono.
Noordin planned the attack on Yudhoyono in April to avenge the death of the three bombers executed last year, National Police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri said
“Police deserve enormous credit” for tracking down the terrorist networks in Bekasi and Temanggung, in Central Java, said Sidney Jones, a security analyst at the International Crisis Group in Jakarta. She also said Noordin may be alive.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation added Noordin’s name to its “Seeking Terrorism Information” list in 2006.
SEE ALSO:
Plot to Kill Indonesian President Foiled – The New York Times
