Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian police`s anti-terror unit Densus-88 raided at least two locations on Saturday (Aug. 8) in their intensified hunt of terrorists, following the bomb blasts at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta last July 17, 2008.

At least three terrorists were believed to have been killed, and one was reportedly arrested, in the raids in Jatiasih, Bekasi, West Java, and Temanggung District, Central Java, on Saturday morning.

Noordin M Top, fugitive Malaysian-born terrorist, was believed to have been killed in the raid in Temanggung, but until Saturday noon the Indonesian police have not yet officially confirmed his death.

After a 17-hour siege, anti-terror police at 9.30 am local time raided a house believed to be a terrorist (most likely Noordin M Top) hideout at Beji village in the Kedu region of Temanggung District.

The raid was carried out after at least five explosions were heard happening in the house. Police officers entered the house and fired profusely inside the house while other policemen surrounded the house and opened its windows by force. Before breaking into the house, the police fired repeatedly at the house from a nearby hill.

The Indonesian government was determined to intensify efforts to find Noordin M Top following the bombings of two hotels in the Mega Kuningan area in Jakarta last July 17, 2009, which killed nine people and injured 53 others.

Based on the findings and modus operandi of the bomb blasts, Noordin M Top and his network were suspected to have been behind the bombings.

Azahari Husin and Noordin M Top, both Malaysian nationals, were believed to have masterminded the Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta on August 5, 2003 which killed 12 people, and injured 147 others.

Azahari was killed in a police raid in East Java in November 2005 but Noording M Top who was with him was able to escape.

Dr Azahari and his associate Noordin Mohammad Top, a terror coordinator of the Al-Qaeda-linked Southeast Asian branch of the Jemaah Islamiyah militant network, are also believed to have masterminded a series of major terrorist acts in Indonesia, including the Bali bombings in 2002, a deadly blast at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta in 2004, and bombings in Bali in October 2005 that killed more than 220 people.

Raid in Bekasi,
Meanwhile, two terrorists were shot dead by police officers of the Densus-88 anti terror unit at the Puri Nusaphala housing complex in Jatiasih, Bekasi, Saturday morning.

"They were shot because they were about to throw bombs at the police," National Police Chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri said as quoted by Brigadier General Sulistyo Ishak, a police spokesman.

However, the police who had surrounded the terrorists` house since 5 pm local time on Friday, could not confirm whether the bomb was a grenade or home-made bomb.

The fatal shooting was necessary because the two terrorists had threatened the lives of the police officers, he said. The dead terrorist were identified as Eko Joko Supriyanto and Air Setiawan.

Police suspected that they were involved in several terrorism crimes including the bombing of JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in the Mega Kuningan area, Jakarta, last July 17, 2009.

The anti-terror policemen also found hundreds of kilograms of explosive materials and a car near the house. "They Were preparing another car bomb attack to be carried out in the next two weeks," Danuri said. One of their targets was believed to be President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s residence in Cikeas, which is not too far from the terrorists' hideout in Jatiasih.

Prior to the Saturday raids, police made a number of arrests of terrorist suspects including in Temanggung and and North Jakarta.

However, Ansyaad Mbai, head of the anti-terror desk at the coordinating ministry for political, legal and security affairs, said in Jakarta on Saturday that the threat of terrorism still exists despite the (unconfirmed) death of Malaysian-born terrorist M Noordin M Top in a police raid in Temanggung.

"His presence in Indonesia for such a long time with a series of terrorist actions carried out up to July 2009, shows that Noordin has continued to build up his power base in the form of cells. It would therefore not be correct to assume that with his death, his entire terror network has been paralyzed. Moreover, many terrorist suspects related to Noordin M Top and Dr Azahari were still at large, he said.

"The skills of the Noordin M Top group in making bombs have continued to be developed as can be seen from their modus operandi ... these skills, of course, have also been acquired by members of the cells which have been built up for a long time at least over the past four years," he said.

Therefore, although Noordin M Top was reportedly dead, all parties must continue to be on alert to the threat of terrorism in any form.

Ansyaad Mbai recently said on a separate occasion that although over the past four years there no terrorist actions occurred in Indonesia, Noordin M Top and his network cells continued to consolidate themselves actively despite the security agencies` successes in tracing and arresting Noordin M Top`s men.

"Friday (July 17)`s incident proves that they are still strong. Arresting Noordin M Top, the actor, should now be the priority. As long as the actor is still at large, all anticipative measures will be useless," he said.

Over the past few weeks, security agencies had traced and detained a number of people in areas believed to be the hideouts of Noordin M Top and his men, such as Cilacap (Central Java), Lampung and Malang (East Java).

One of the terrorist suspects captured recently was Syaefudin Zuhri who was arrested in Cilacap in June 2009.

Indonesia continued to communicate and coordinate with the government and security personnel of Malaysia, and several other others, to look for and arrest Noordin M Top, Inspector General Ansyaad Mbai said recently.

The security personnel have also expanded the coverage of their search, not only in Java and Sumatra, but also in the country`s other regions. A lot of posters and banners depicting Noordin's faces in various possible modifications, have been distributed and posted throughout Indonesia.

In Brebes, central Java, for instance, police have erected a 4-m x 6-m billboard with fugitive terror suspect Nurdin Muhammad Top`s countenance on it at the Central Java - West Java border.

Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said in Jakarta recently Police remain the main element in fighting terrorism, despite the establishment of anti-terrorism desks at military regional commands throughout Indonesia.

He said the efforts to fight terrorism must be conducted by all parties including civilians, and related institutions in the central government and regions. At present, the coordinating ministry for political, legal and security affairs has a counter terrorism desk.

Following the bombings in Jakarta last July 2009, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had instructed the chiefs of the National Police (Polri) and the National Defende Forced (TNI) as well as governors and district heads across the country to increase vigilance against possible recurrence of terrorist acts.

"The law enforcers must be able to find the perpetrators or the masterminds behind the incidents," he said.

"I swear in the name of the people and the government that we will take stern and appropriate actions against the perpetrators and masterminds of the bombing incidents," the head of state said, adding "today (Friday) marks a dark spot in our history. The bombings were committed by terrorists".

If it is confirmed that Noordin M Top was killed in the police raid in Temanggung, the country`s security agencies should be praised for their hard work and success in eliminating the two most wanted terrorists in Indonesia , namely Noordin and Dr Azahari.(*)