Non-Subscriber Extract
Top target - Militant deaths hit extremism in Indonesia
By Sidney Jones
21 October 2009
Indonesian police release an image of slain Malaysian militant Noordin Top, who was killed in a raid on 17 September. (Press Association)
The death of the Malaysian Noordin Mohammed Top, Southeast Asia's most wanted militant, in a police raid on 17 September near Solo, Central Java, was a major strike against violent extremism in Indonesia.
Three weeks later, the death of Noordin's accomplice Syaifudin Zuhri bin Ahmad Jaelani and his brother Mohammed Syahrir bin Ahmad Jaelani, in a raid on 9 October in Ciputat, Banten, demonstrated continued security force pressure on militant extremists in the country, but also raised questions about police tactics that led to so many killings rather than capture of top suspects.
However, the threat is far from over. Several of Noordin's senior lieutenants are still at large and organisations such as Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and Jamaah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT) remain potential recruiting pools.
Since the 17 July bombings of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, police have killed eight operatives in addition to Noordin and arrested 11 others. Yet, there are at least seven other individuals on the police wanted list who are known to have worked closely with Noordin over the past three years, and there is evidence suggesting he led a more sophisticated network than had been generally assumed.