NEWS.com.au, September 14, 2006 01:00am
Bali bomb recruiter shot dead
By Natalie O'Brien
ONE of Australia's most wanted terrorists, who recruited the suicide bombers to carry
out the 2002 Bali bombings, has been killed in a shootout with Filipino soldiers.
Umar Patek, a recruitment specialist for the Indonesian-based terror group Jemaah
Islamiah, died in a stronghold of the Philippines militant group Abu Sayyaf.
The group had been hiding Patek and his Bali bombing compatriot Dulmatin.
Patek, who had a $US1million ($1.3 million) bounty on his head, was killed during the
largest military offensive launched against Southeast Asian terrorists hiding out in the
region.
The head of the Philippines security forces hunting the terrorists, Brigadier General
Juancho Sabban, said Patek "died from the wounds he suffered" after forces attacked
the Abu Sayyaf camp at Luba Hill in the village of Barangay Tugas on the island of
Jolo.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said last night the AFP "is
aware of the reports (of Patek's death) and is optimistic there might be yet another
breakthrough by the law enforcement and intelligence community in the disruption and
dismantling of terrorism networks in the region."
The AFP has previously listed Patek, Dulmatin and the Bali bomb mastermind
Noordin Top as Australia's most wanted terrorists.
The US Government has a $US10 million bounty on Dulmatin's head, which is
surpassed only by the $US25 million offered for Osama bin Laden.
Late last week, soldiers stormed the Abu Sayyaf area and discovered terrorist
manuals and bomb parts in a sign the al-Qaeda-linked militants had been training and
planning for future attacks.
Some of the evidence uncovered included bullet-resistant camouflage vests,
bomb-making manuals and four compact discs containing letters and plans.
They had been written in the Indonesian Bahasa language and were believed to have
been owned by Patek and Dulmatin.
Security officers are translating the documents.
Earlier this year, Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the military
to crack down on terrorists in the south of the country and hunt for Dulmatin, Patek
and the head of the Abu Sayyaf group, Khadaffy Janjalani, who were believed to be
hiding out together.
In the past fews weeks, the fighting has concentrated on the island of Jolo and there
have been reports that more than 40 militants and six soldiers had been killed in
clashes as they attempted to capture Janjalani and his cohorts.
Dulmatin and Patek fled to The Philippines after the 2002 Bali bombings to avoid
capture.
They formed an alliance with Abu Sayyaf, a radical group listed as a terrorist
organisation by the US, and have been recruiting and training terrorists sent from
Indonesia to their training camps in the southern Philippines.
Both JI and Abu Sayyaf have been linked with Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'ida network.
Dulmatin, an electronics whiz, was a protege of master JI bomb-maker Azahari Husin
who was killed in Indonesia late last year. He allegedly helped assemble the bombs
used at the Sari Club and Paddy's bar in the Bali bombings that killed 202 people,
including 88 Australians.
Copyright 2006 News Limited.
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