Bali bomb suspect killed in Indonesia
Police win international praise
Last Updated: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 | 6:56 AM ET
The Associated Press
Indonesian counterterrorism authorities won international praise on Wednesday, one day after killing a top-ranked Southeast Asian militant wanted for planning the deadly 2002 Bali bombings.
The killing happened during raids near Jakarta. Police killed Dulmatin and two of his bodyguards, and also found bomb-making materials.
Brig. Gen. Musaddeq Ishaq shows a picture of Dulmatin during a press conference at police headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Wednesday. Dulmatin, who was killed in a raid by counterterorism authorities Monday near Jakarta, is the suspected mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombings. (Tatan Syuflana/Associated Press) Dulmatin, a 39-year-old Indonesian trained by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan who used one name, was wanted for the suicide bombings that tore through two Bali nightclubs popular with Westerners on Oct. 12, 2002, killing 202 people. The bombings were Indonesia's deadliest terrorist attack.
He was also blamed for the 2004 truck bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta that killed 11.
Dulmatin was considered the alleged master bomb-maker of Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian offshoot of al-Qaeda, and had been one of Southeast Asia's most-wanted fugitives. He was thought to have fled to the Philippines.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono confirmed Dulmatin's death during a speech to officials in the Australian capital of Canberra on Wednesday.
"Indonesian authorities will continue to hunt [terrorists] down and do all we can to prevent them from harming our people," Yudhoyono said in a speech in Parliament House.
"The breakthroughs that Indonesia has made in undermining various terrorist networks has been significant," Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters. Some 88 Australians died in the Bali attacks.
Dulmatin's death boosts security
Philippine marines commander Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban, who for years has led U.S.-backed offensives that have killed and captured several Abu Sayyaf leaders, said Dulmatin's death has made the region safer.
Eliminating Dulmatin will be seen as a major achievement for Indonesian security forces ahead of Obama's first visit to the country March 20-22. Terrorism in the region will be a major focus of talks.
Tuesday's raids were part of a police crackdown on a suspected Jemaah Islamiyah cell that recently established a paramilitary training camp in the western province of Aceh. Police said they were based on information from about 20 militants captured from Aceh and Java.
