JAKARTA (AP):
ALLEGED TERROR mastermind Azahari bin Husin, who is believed to have spearheaded the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia, was shot dead by an elite police unit during a raid on his hideout late Wednesday.
Police initially said Azahari blew himself up to avoid capture, but police chief General Sutanto told reporters yesterday he was shot before he had the chance to detonate the bomb strapped to his waist.
Another wanted militant holed up with Azahari succeeded in setting off his device, sparking a massive explosion that ripped off the roof of their rented house, police said.
Dubbed the 'Demolition Man' by newspapers in his native Malaysia, Azahari was the suspected brains behind several bomb attacks on Western targets in Indonesia and the top bomb maker in Jemaah Islamiah, a shadowy network linked to al-Qaida.
Authorities say the electronics expert designed and supervised the making of the car bomb that caused the most damage in 2002 attacks on the resort island of Bali which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
TOO EARLY TO DECLARE VICTORY
Ansyaad Mbai, who heads Indonesia's anti-terrorist coordinating board, said it was too early to declare victory.
"A movement with ideological and political motives won't die, even if the leading figure dies," he told Reuters.
Jemaah Islamiah would not be crippled by Azahari's death, but it would be a major step in the war on terrorism, said Australian Prime Minister John Howard.
In Malaysia, Azahari's wife, Noraini, and their two children have accepted his death, Badaruddin Ismail, an activist with the rights group Suaram, said after meeting with the family. Azahari's wife said she just wanted his remains back.
