Azahari Husin
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Dr. Azahari bin Husin (born September 14, 1957 – November 9, 2005), a Malaysian national and Islamic terrorist, was believed to be the technical mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombing and various other Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist attacks. As a result, he was nicknamed the "Demolition Man". Azahari was killed in a police raid on his hideout in 2005.
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[edit] History
Azahari was an engineer with a Ph.D. in property valuation from University of Reading, United Kingdom and was a lecturer at the University of Technology in Johor, Malaysia. He studied in Australia for four years in the mid to late 1970s, when many Malay students were drawn to the cause of political Islam under the influence of the brewing Iranian revolution. He attended Norwood High school, now known as Norwood Morialta High School in the mid 1970s.
Later he received extensive bomb training in Afghanistan. He authored the JI bomb manual, used in the Bali bombing and the 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing. He also planned the September 9, 2004 Jakarta embassy bombing. He was also implicated in the 2005 Bali bombings. Prior to his death, he was one of the most wanted men in Indonesia along with Noordin Mohammed Top.
In July 2004, Noordin and Azahari narrowly escaped a police raid on a rented house west of Jakarta, where forensic experts later found traces of explosives used in the embassy bombing. Neighbours described both as reclusive men who left the property only to pray at a nearby mosque; and they said that before the bombing, they saw the duo loading heavy boxes into a white delivery van which is the same type used in that attack.[1]
Before the Marriott Hotel bombing Azahari is known to have stayed with Asmar Latin Sani, the suspected Marriott suicide bomber, at his home in Bengkulu on the island of Sumatra.[2]
Both men were close associates of Jemaah Islamiyah's former operational chief, Riduan Isamuddin (better known as Hambali) who was captured in Thailand in 2003.[1]
[edit] Death
On November 9, 2005, Indonesian police, acting on a tip-off, managed to locate (JI) bomb maker Azahari Husin. They conducted a raid on one of his hideouts in Batu, near Malang in East Java with Detachment 88 operators sent to assist regular police officers. Three suspected jihadi terrorists barricaded themselves inside a house and they put up stiff resistance, throwing grenades and firing bullets at the police outside. This was followed by a series of explosions, one of which was a suicide blast by his assistant setting off his bomb vest.[3]. Police identified the intact corpse of Azahari, with a bullet wound in his chest.[4][5] It seems Azahari was shot and killed by a police sniper, after which one of his disciples blew himself up to prevent him from being taken alive.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Bali bombings: 'Demolition Man,' 'Moneyman' key suspects". Rediff India Abroad. 2005. http://us.rediff.com/news/2005/oct/03bali1.htm?q=np&file=.htm. Retrieved on March 29 2006.
- ^ "Who is Azahari Husin?". Sydney Morning Herald. 2004. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/09/1094530774504.html?from=storylhs. Retrieved on March 29 2006.
- ^ Gatra.Com
- ^ "Bali bomb maker believed dead". BBC. 2005-11-10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4421300.stm.
- ^ Chew, Amy (November 10, 2005). "Azahari Dead". New Straits Times, p. 1, 4.
