Top terrorists hide out in Indonesia

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 <> and think this group is working against the United States, which is popular in Indonesia at this stage," she said. "I think you can find some of that support network on university campuses and some of the [Islamic boarding schools] networks."

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.