Bali bombing brains trained in Mindanao

BALI, Indonesia — The two Malaysians suspected of masterminding the latest suicide attacks in Bali trained on terrorism in the Philippines and are notorious for separate but complementary skills: one is called a bomb-making expert and the other a smooth-talker adept at raising money and recruiting bombers.

Azahari bin Husin — known as the "Demolition Man" for his knowledge of explosives — and "Moneyman" Noordin Mohamed Top are believed to be key figures in the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror group blamed for Saturday’s bombings that killed 26 people days before the third anniversary of the previous Bali bombing incident.

Azahari is known to have received bomb-making training in Mindanao in 1999, and advanced training in Afghanistan in 2000. His wide expertise in bomb-making includes remote-controlled explosives.

Noordin is suspected of talking militants into becoming suicide bombers, using skills he picked up during stints in the southern Philippines, Indonesian police said.

A senior Philippine military official said the local intelligence community is looking into the possibility that the Bali bombers trained in the Philippines and sourced their explosives here.

"The Philippines is also considered one of the sources of raw explosive materials, like fertilizer, in the region," the official said.

Azahari and Noordin became Southeast Asia’s most wanted fugitives after allegedly masterminding the Oct. 12, 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, and the Jakarta suicide attacks in 2003 and 2004, which left 23 more dead.

Although both Bali bombings were suicide attacks, a crucial difference is that last time the bombs were carried in a car and a backpack. This time, the three suicide bombers were wearing vests packed with explosives, metal shrapnel and ball bearings, officials said.

A top Indonesian anti-terror official, Maj. Gen. Ansyaad Mbai, also has identified Azahari and Noordin two as the alleged masterminds of the latest bombings.

Indonesian police said the two had eluded capture for years by renting cheap houses in densely populated areas, with nearby back alleys for quick escapes.

Azahari, an Australian-trained engineer, and Noordin were close associates of Jemaah Islamiyah’s former operational chief, Riduan Isamuddin.

Isamuddin, an Indonesian better known as Hambali, was captured in Thailand in 2003 and is now in US custody. The two Malaysians are believed to have taken on his mantle — but this remains unconfirmed.

Azahari, a 48-year-old native of the southern Malaysian state of Johor, studied mechanical engineering at Adelaide University in Australia before getting a doctorate in property valuation from Reading University in the United Kingdom in 1990.

He taught at a Johor university before getting involved with JI.

A Malaysian security official said Azahari "would have little problem in improvising their skills to come up with explosive vests" worn by the suicide bombers in Saturday night’s attacks on three restaurants in Bali, which Malaysian and Indonesian authorities fear could be the start of a bombing campaign by the Jemaah Islamiyah.

Azahari fled Malaysia, leaving behind his wife and two children, after police uncovered his JI role during a crackdown after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. Noordin, also from Johor, fled at the same time, and both arrived in Indonesia.

Scores of Jemaah Islamiyah suspects were detained, leading some officials to say the group’s leadership had been crippled. But analysts have warned that a new generation of militants has joined the group and are preparing for attacks.

Dubbed "the Demolition Man" by Malaysian media, Azahari is believed to have become a militant firebrand after meeting JI leader Abu Bakar Bashir in the 1980s.

Noordin, 35, is Azahari’s understudy and a recruiting whiz who purportedly excels at collecting money for the group’s deadly missions. He was reportedly the chief strategist in the Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta in 2003, and the September 2004 attack on the Australian embassy there.

In July 2004, Azahari and Noordin narrowly escaped a police raid on a rented house west of Jakarta, where forensic experts later found traces of explosives used in the Australian embassy bombing.

Neighbors described both as reclusive men who left the property only to pray at a nearby mosque. Areas residents said that before the embassy blast they saw the pair load heavy boxes into a white delivery van — the same type used in that attack.

Militants arrested for the Marriott bombing said Azahari attached ordinary soap bars to containers of flammable liquid next to the bomb. The mixture of sodium and fatty acid in the soap created deadly fireballs.

Authorities in Malaysia have been keeping a close eye on the relatives and friends of the two suspects, but "their trail went cold" several months ago, according to a Malaysian security official.

Azahari and Noordin were not believed to be among the three suicide attackers, though the assailants have not yet been identified. All that remained at the scenes were the heads and feet of the bombers.

Saturday’s near-simultaneous blasts struck two seafood cafes in the Jimbaran beach resort and a three-story noodle and steakhouse in downtown Kuta. Kuta is the bustling tourist center of Bali where two nightclubs were bombed three years ago, also on a busy Saturday night.

Malaysia’s Defense Minister Najib Razak insisted that "there are no terrorist cells actively operating in Malaysia as far as the government is concerned."

But "prompt action must be taken any place where terrorists are detected," he told reporters. — AP