The Jakarta Post, June 25, 2004
Police say bomb suspect Azahari still in Bandung
Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung
Intelligence suggests that key terror suspect Dr. Azahari is still in Bandung,
according to the Bandung metropolitan police.
Sr. Comr. Hendra Sukmana, the chief of Bandung Police, said the city's security
status had been increased to top alert and he had advised Bandung Mayor Dada
Rosada to instruct all neighborhood chiefs in the city to enforce the registration of all
guests staying at people's homes for more than 24 hours.
Hendra also suggested that Bandung residents revive nightly patrols in their
neighborhoods to maintain security.
"We recently received credible information that he is still in the city. We cannot afford
to miss another arrest and are hunting for him," he said.
Hendra refused to disclose the source of information.
Azahari is a suspect in last year's JW Marriott bombing that killed 12 people. He and
fellow Malaysian Noordin Mohd. Top are also suspected of involvement in the Bali
bombing two years ago.
Two other accomplices, Tohir and Ismail, were arrested and testified in court that both
Azahari and Noordin had planned the Marriott bombing while living in Cigadung, north
Bandung.
Asmar Latin Sani, who died in the Marriott bombing, also attended meetings at the
house.
After the bombing, Azahari and Noordin moved to another rented house in Tamansari,
Bandung, near the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).
Police raided the house in October, but the two had already fled. TNT was found in the
house.
Hendra said all Bandung residents should help search for the two suspects, as they
were a threat to the community.
If they are not arrested soon, they could recruit more bombers and target public areas
in the city.
Last year, police distributed leaflets bearing the photographs of two of the most
wanted men -- Azahari and Noordin -- in hotels and public places in Bandung, as they
appealed for the public's help to track down the terrorist suspects.
Hotel managements in Bandung, meanwhile, blamed Azahari and Noordin for the
sudden drop in hotel occupancy rates in the city.
Besides the two suspects, other fugitives include Dulmatin, who allegedly helped in
the Bali bomb construction, and Zulkarnaen, whom police have called a "mastermind"
of the Bali attacks.
Dulmatin, who remains at large, is an explosives expert who was trained by Azahari
and also allegedly played a prominent role in the bomb attacks.
The attacks have been blamed on al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terror
network, which is also accused of a string of other attacks.
Police have managed to capture over 30 people, including masterminds Amrozi, Imam
Samudra and Mukhlas in the Bali bombing case. Most of them have been tried and
three have been sentenced to death while others received long jail sentences,
including life imprisonment.
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