Indonesian police, M’sian embassy to coordinate on Noordin Top’s remains

The Indonesian police will coordinate with the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta on matters relating to the body of Noordin Mohd Top, the most wanted terrorist in Southeast Asia who was shot dead in a police operation in Solo, central Java earlier today.

“We have already contacted the Malaysian Embassy here and the Indonesian Foreign Ministry as well as the Indonesian Ambassador in Kuala Lumpur, Da’i Bachtiar,” Indonesian police chief Gen Bambang Hendarso Danuri told a press conference here today.

Noordin’s body is currently being held at the police hospital here for DNA identification, a process which could take up to 30 hours.

The Indonesian police, however, are confident that the man who was shot dead in the five-hour operation, which began at 6am local time, was Noordin, a Malaysian citizen.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta’s deputy head of mission Amran Mohd Zain, when contacted, said the embassy would give its full cooperation in the matter.

“We will coordinate with the Indonesian authorities and help them with the procedures,” he said.

Amran said the embassy would also inform Noordin’s family in Malaysia and his other relatives here concerning the latest developments.

Three other terrorists shot dead in the same operation were Bagus Budi Pranoto alias Urwah, Susilo @ Adib and Ario Sudarso @ Aji.

A pregnant woman, identified as Susilo’s wife, Munawaroh, was injured in the operation.

Bambang said Indonesian police had worked hard over the past nine years in tracking Noordin and they had also found 200kg of explosives in the house where Noordin was killed, besides loaded M-16 rifles, laptop computers and various documents.

In KUALA LUMPUR, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the Malaysian government would extend assistance to Noordin’s family to bring back his remains to be buried in the country.

He said Noordin’s family had been informed about this latest development and that the government was awaiting DNA confirmation that the body is his.

“If necessary we will send a representative of the family to Indonesia to assist the process (bring back the body),” he told reporters after conducting checks on the police’s Ops Sikap road safety operation in conjunction with Aidilfitri, at the the Jalan Duta toll plaza here. – Bernama