Noordin Mohammad Top
Most wanted Malaysian Islamic terrorist, Noordin Mohammad Top, 40, member of the Jemaah Islaymiyah splinter group Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad, is being reported dead, although it has not yet been confirmed by the Indonesian government. He was reportedly killed in a duel raid, one on a house in Beji village, Temanggung, Central Java and another in Bekasi. Witnesses stated that Friday evening, police set off an explosion at approximately 9:50 am, and then entered the house in Beji after gunfire was exchanged. Another man was killed in the raids and 5 more arrested.
Although Top was wanted for previous attacks in Indonesia, the nation has 17,000 islands and a population of over 200 million, so it was relatively easy for him to avoid capture for many years. It is believed Top had the aid of the shrinking local Islamic terror network and his several wives.
Although Top was the prime suspect in the recent Jakarta bombings, another man, a cook at the Gran Melia hotel, Yayan, 28, has also been implicated and arrested.
