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| Southeast Asia |
| Global hunt mounted for Azahari, Top |
| 2005-10-03 |
| A GLOBAL hunt was last night under way for the two terrorist masterminds behind the latest Bali bombings, one of them a British-educated bomb-maker who may already have been involved with extremists when he studied at a UK university. They were identified as Azahari bin Husin, a former student at Reading University, and Noordin Mohamed Top - nicknamed Demolition Man and Money Man respectively in Indonesia because of their "skills". As the death toll of Saturday's blasts was revised to 22, including the three suicide bombers, world leaders condemned the attacks and pledged their support for Indonesia's fight against terrorism. However, the Foreign Office was also facing questions about how much information it had passed on to British travellers about risks in South-east Asia during "bombing season". With ten dead bodies unidentified, British diplomats in Indonesia conceded it could not be said with "absolute certainty" that none was British. More than 100 people were injured in the attacks, at least two of them British. Of those, 17 were said to be in a serious condition. Grim forensic evidence and chilling CCTV and amateur video footage appeared to confirm that the blasts, in three restaurants in the resorts of Jimbayan Beach and Kuta, were set off by terrorists carrying explosives on their bodies. With the main culprits dead, decapitated by their explosions, the search has turned to the militant leaders who inspired and equipped the bombers. All evidence suggests the Jemaah Islamiyah group (JI), an affiliate of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, carried out the Bali outrage. Despite arrests and other operations that have left JI "fragmented", its key figures, Husin and Top, remain at large, high on the watch-lists of security services. Malaysia-born Husin is described by the US State Department as one of "the most wanted men in South-east Asia" and is said to be an expert in the preparation of explosives and identifying targets. After a mechanical engineering degree in Australia, Husin came to Britain in the late 1980s and in 1990 received a PhD from Reading University. The college yesterday confirmed Husin had written a thesis on property prices in Malaysia. "It is not thought he maintained any contact with the university once he had completed his thesis," a statement said. "When Azahari Husin was at Reading, he appeared to be a completely normal student." Despite that assurance, there is a possibility that Husin had already begun the so-called "radicalisation" process when he came to Britain. According to reports in Malaysia, he first met Abu Bakar Bashir, the spiritual leader of JI, in the 1980s and fell under his sway at that time. Husin and Top, also Malaysian, have been on the run since fleeing their home country in 2001, and are wanted in connection with a string of attacks on Western targets in Indonesia. The Malaysian foreign minister, Syed Hamid Albar, said: "These people may be Malaysian by citizenship but they are not with us. I hope they [Indonesians] are successful in investigating and catching these two men." Tony Blair said that Britain would "stand by Indonesia at this very difficult time". "I offer our full support to the people of Bali as they recover from another atrocity so soon after the 2002 attack," he said. "The British government stands ready to help in any way we can." The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, said that the United States "stands with the people and government of Indonesia as they work to bring to justice those responsible for these acts." British travel firms estimated that about 1,000 UK nationals were at present in Bali on holiday. Last night, however, there was little sign of many seeking to return home in the wake of the attacks. "It's not the impression we've had, that people are trying to leave the country," said Charles Humphrey, the British ambassador to Jakarta. "There have been some people leaving but it's not been a panic exodus." While Australian officials passed on an Indonesian government warning that September and October were "bombing season", the Foreign Office did not update its travel advice until yesterday morning. And even after the attacks, the Foreign Office still does not advise against travel to Bali, though it does for other parts of Indonesia, like war-torn Aceh province. "People still intending in the immediate future to travel to Bali should review thoroughly information on the local situation, and ensure they are taking full precautions and following local advice," said the Foreign Office in advice updated yesterday. By contrast, the Australian government has advised against all but essential travel to Bali since the 2002 attacks. David Ritchie, the Australian ambassador to Indonesia, yesterday confirmed that his government regarded this autumn as a particularly sensitive period. "This is a time of year that makes us very nervous," said Mr Ritchie, who is now in Bali. "August, September, October have been something of a bombing season in Indonesia." On 29 August, the Indonesian government issued a warning that the following two months were very likely to see terrorist attacks linked to JI and al-Qaeda. Australian relayed that warning to its citizens via its formal travel advice; the Foreign Office made no mention of it. Regional experts said that there had been a high degree of ambient noise or "chatter" among suspected extremist sympathisers, often a sign that a terrorist operation is imminent. "The fact that there's going to be an attack was known to the intelligence community," said Ric Blancaflor, a senior Philippines counter-terrorism official. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |