The Malay Mail, Nov 10 2005
Threat from JI not over
By MARHALIM ABAS
"The threat is not over" — this is the assessment of terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna
when contacted by The Malay Mail, following reports that Asia's most wanted
terrorist, Dr Azahari Husin, 48, was killed yesterday. He said, even if it was proven
that Azahari, a Malaysian, had died, the possibility of further attacks remained as the
Jemaah Islamiah (JI) explosives expert had trained several others in the art of making
bombs.
"Certainly, the threat has been reduced but we cannot discount revenge attacks by
his associates," he said.
Gunaratna, the head of research into terrorism at the Institute of Defence and
Strategic Studies in Singapore, said such attacks could still occur, most probably in
Indonesia.
He said it was most likely that Malacca-born Azahari was killed in the raid.
"Azahari always carries an explosive belt as he did not want to be captured alive. In
fact, he had managed to escape on several occasions because he was carrying the
explosive belt."
Apart from Azahari's followers, there is still the threat from his Malaysian
terror-in-crime, Nordin Mohd Top.
Gunaratna said it was unlikely that Nordin was killed together with Azahari.
He said the duo had travelled separately in the past.
"There is the possibility that they were not together this time."
Meanwhile, Malaysian authorities declined comment on the incident, pending full
confirmation from the Indonesian authorities.
Azahari and Nordin had been sought by Indonesian police as both were accused of
masterminding the Oct 12, 2002, Bali bombings.
Both had since been accused of masterminding three other blasts, including the
latest bombings in Bali last month.
Malaysian police first to link duo to militant activities
Malaysian police were the first to finger Dr Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohd Top for
their involvement in militant activities.
Their photographs, together with several other suspects, were passed to regional law
enforcement authorities in early 2002.
However, after the Oct 12, 2002 bombings in Bali, Azahari and Noordin emerged as
the masterminds of the attacks following extensive investigations by Indonesian
police.
The duo managed to elude arrest and continued to mastermind terror attacks in
Indonesia, including two deadly blasts in Jakarta.
They were also accused of masterminding the attacks in Bali last month.
Malaysian police uncovered evidence of a militant movement following a botched
robbery in Petaling Jaya in May, 2001.
Investigations revealed that the movement was linked to a regional organisation known
as Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
Only after the 2002 Bali bombing, were JI's links to al-Qaeda, the terror organisation
responsible for the Sept 11, 2001 attacks in the US, made public.
© Copyright 2004 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.
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