Two of Southeast Asia's top terrorist suspects may be disguised as beggars, blending in with holiday travelers in packed minivans or receiving food and shelter from fellow radicals.
Authorities have plenty of theories to explain how Malaysian explosives experts Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohammed remain on the run in the world's most populous Muslim nation after nearly being arrested last week.
Despite the successful arrests of dozens of suspects in last year's Bali bombings, the failure to detain the pair shows the challenges of fighting terrorism in a country where the police are ill-equipped and often corrupt, and a small minority support terrorism.
Some police say the two alleged leaders of the al-Qaeda-linked terror group Jemaah Islamiyah could have fled to the island of Sumatra. Others speculate they remain holed up on the country's main island of Java, close to the port city of Surabaya.
Indonesia, a country of nearly 17,000 islands with porous borders and lax law enforcement, has long been a favorite place for smugglers, drug dealers and terrorists.
"Why they escaped is not a great mystery. The basic problem is that police don't know what they look like," said Ansyaad Mbai, who heads the counterterrorism desk at the Ministry of Political and Security Affairs.
"What is of great concern is that they escaped and are carrying bombs," he said.
The men have likely turned to Islamic charities, fellow radicals and Muslim boarding schools to shelter and feed them -- much like several people convicted in the Bali bombings, experts say.
"There is a sympathetic network of people who are not Jemaah Islamiyah but who would certainly give refuge for people like this," said Sidney Jones, a Jemaah Islamiyah expert with the International Crisis Group.
"They believe in <
Last week, it seemed police were closing in on the pair.
After a tip from a Jemaah Islamiyah operative in custody, police surrounded a neighborhood in the West Javanese town of Bandung on Oct. 30 and prepared to arrest the men.
But when they entered the rented house the next day, Noordin and Azahari had fled, Mbai said. Police speculate the two disguised themselves as beggars and joined the thousands of Indonesians traveling home for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Authorities found six bombs and several identity cards. Police initially said officers allowed the men to flee because they feared they would detonate explosives strapped to their waists -- an assertion that Mbai and others have dismissed.
Police also missed an opportunity to catch Azahari three months ago when they stopped a motorcycle carrying him in Sumatra but let him go free, Mbai said.
"Our police don't have experience dealing with these kinds of people," said a former intelligence official who refused to be identified. "This should be a joint operation with police, intelligence and military."
But Mbai said the government fears military participation would prompt a backlash from Indonesians who associate troops with abuses.
"It would be ideal to use [the military] because they have so many troops. But the military is seen as committing human rights violations in the past," Mbai said.
Since then, police have distributed mugshots to mosques and boarding houses across West Java and set up road blocks. Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have heightened security along their borders.
"Authorities believe the duo are bent on carrying out more bombings and were identifying suitable targets before police closed in on them," a senior Malaysian official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
"There is still enough infrastructure and logistic support for the JI to carry out more attacks in Indonesia," he said. "This is why Azahari and Noordin continue to remain in that country."
Based on interrogations with other suspects, police have warned that the two were planning to bomb a US-owned Citibank in Bandung and Western-owned hotels and residential neighborhoods popular with foreigners in Jakarta, possibly with suicide attacks.
Azahari and Noordin are on a list of 10 Malaysians whose assets were frozen by the US for their alleged roles in the Oct. 12 last year, Bali blasts and the Marriott bombing.
Azahari allegedly helped build one of the bombs used in the Bali attack, while Noordin is accused of financing the blast, which killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese