Dr Azahari the most dangerous terrorist

Jemaah Islamiah bomb expert Dr Azahari Husin has been fingered as the mastermind of the bombing of the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta which left 11 dead and 149 injured. Security agencies in Southeast Asia are also blaming the former Universiti Teknologi Malaysia lecturer for other bombing campaigns. WONG CHUN WAI and LOURDES CHARLES spoke to intelligence sources to put up the profile of this dangerous terrorist. 

DR AZAHARI HUSIN is easily the most wanted man in the region today and in terms of notoriety he has overshadowed other Jemaah Islamiah fugitives such as Hambal alias Riduan Isamuddin, the point man for al-Qaeda in Southeast Asia. 

The former Universiti Teknologi Malaysia lecturer, said to be operating in Indonesia, has been blamed for a series of bombing campaigns including the latest attack on the JW Marriot Hotel in Jakarta on Aug 5. 

His other credentials include the Oct 12 Bali blast, which killed over 200 people, bombings of churches in Pekanbaru and Medan on Christmas Eve in 2000 and blast at the Atrium Plaza in Jakarta the same year. 

Dr Azahari Husin

The 46-year-old bespectacled British-trained engineer is said to have conducted bomb-making classes for militants. 

Intelligence sources said Dr Azahari is the prime suspect for the JW Marriot attack, which left 11 dead and 149 injured, together with Indonesian electronics expert Dul Matin alias Genius. 

“The two are said to have masterminded the attack and had designed the car bomb used by Asmar Latinsani,” an Indonesian police source said, adding that for the past few months, the two had meetings with JI suspects from Sumatra. 

Asmar, whose severed head was found on the fifth floor of building next to the Marriott hotel, was identified by two detained JI suspects, who themselves are being held by Indonesian police following the seizure of a huge amount of explosive substances, ammunition and firearms. 

As Indonesian police attempt to put together the picture of the blast, they have stepped up their search for Malacca-born Dr Azahari, who has told his JI counterparts that he was ready to die for the holy war.  

His turning point, according to sources, was when he began attending usrahs – or religious meetings – in 1991 carried out by a JI suspect in Skudai, about 20km, from Johor Baru. 

According to UTM lecturers, Dr Azahari hid his plans well as they never saw him wearing religious attire nor had he talked about religion in his classes. 

Dr Azahari, who has written books on multiple regression analysis, which is part of the engineering course, had been described as “very academic and professional.” 

But unknown to his colleagues, he was involved with the Luqmanul Hakiem religious school that was founded by Abdullah Sungkar and Abubakar Ba’asyir. Abubakar, who is regarded as the founder of JI, is now facing trial for treason in Jakarta. 

It was at that school that Amrozi, who was sentenced to death recently for confessing to his role in the Bali blast recently, had studied. His brother, Ali Gufron alias Mukhlas, who is also being tried for the Bali bombing, also studied there. 

“Dr Azahari was appointed as one the school’s board of directors. The school’s principal was Nordin Mohd Top, a UTM graduate and liaison officer for Hambali,” a Malaysian source said. 

As the confidence of JI leaders grew, Dr Azahari was sent to Mindanao in the Southern Philippines in 1999 where he trained to handle firearms and making explosives. 

“The web of terror grew from there as Dr Azahari is believed to have met and struck a deep friendship with Fathur Rahman Al Ghozi, “ one Indonesian source revealed. 

Fathur, nicknamed Mike the Bomber, recently escaped from a Manila prison and is now a fugitive. The self-confessed Indonesian terrorist has admitted to making bombs by using basic chemicals and is able to carry out a terrorist operation in a short span of time.  

He has conducted arms training for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in southern Philippines and had also trained JI operatives in Malaysia and Singapore. 

“Both Dr Azahari and Fathur trained together for two months. Eventually, Dr Azahari was personally handpicked by Hambali to attend an advance course in bomb making in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2000. 

“He was there for three months, building up his network and meeting other terrorists. He is believed to have also learned to handle other arms,” a source added. 

Regional security agencies said they believed that Indonesian police nearly arrested Dr Azahari during a raid on JI suspects involved in the church bombings. 

Dr Azahari was said to be sporting shoulder length hair when he was seen with several JI suspect in Pekanbaru sometime in May. He got away when Indonesian police moved in for the arrest because they did not recognise him with his new looks. 

The raids in April, May and July in Pekanbaru, Semarang, Jakarta and other parts of Indonesia saw scores of JI members including several Malaysians detained. 

During the raids, police seized TNT, detonators and cassettes, and a booklet of church service schedules. Also seized were 25 sacks of potassium chlorate and several shoulder launched rockets. The police also arrested Suyono Yuda, who admitted to being a regional leader for JI and had trained in Afghanistan. 

“The material found in Semarang, Central Java, was enough to make a bomb ten times more potent than the one in Bali. That is something for everyone in the region to ponder and we think Dr Azahari has plenty of the answers,” one officer said. 

Regarded as a hardliner, Dr Azahari has left behind his wife, who is suffering from a life threatening illness, and his children for a cause which he believe cannot be compromised. Even, if it means leaving behind a trail of destruction and the death of innocent bystanders. 

 

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