Indonesian police say a top terror suspect reportedly shot and killed by officers Saturday had been planning a suicide bomb attack on the country's president.
According to Indonesia's top police chief, Noordin Mohammad and other suspected terrorists were setting up a bomb strike on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's home.
Noordin, the most wanted terror suspect in all of Southeast Asia, was reportedly killed following a 16-hour operation by Indonesian police.
Reports say that Noordin, the 40-year-old man blamed for the deadly blasts at a Jakarta hotel last month, was killed Saturday in a bathroom of a house in central Java province.
Police have not confirmed the reports of Noordin's death and DNA tests will likely be necessary to identify his remains.
If the reports are confirmed, Noordin's death would be a major victory for Indonesia's police, who have been locked in a deadly power struggle with the country's Islamic militants.
Starting late Friday afternoon, police surrounded the home where Noordin was believed to be holed up.
Over the next 16 hours, bomb-detecting robots were sent into the home and eventually police raided the property. The precautions were necessary for Indonesian police, who have come up against booby traps and suicide bombers in at least one prior raid on a suspected terrorist hide-out.
Police could be seen firing into the home from close range before they entered on Saturday. They dressed in black and stood behind a shield when firing. Other officers fired at the home from a nearby hill.
Within minutes of the raid, police were seen shaking hands and removing their helmets, suggesting all those inside the residence had been killed or captured.
A police officer at the scene said a body had been found in a bathroom inside the house. An hour later, three ambulances were seen leaving the home.
Police spokesman Nanan Sukarna said officers believed that Noordin and two or three associates were inside the home when it was raided. He could not confirm any details of their fate.
President Yudhoyono told reporters said the operation that took place was "to uphold law and eradicate terrorism," though he did not mention Nordin's name.
"I extend my gratitude and respect to the people for their brilliant achievement in this operation," Yudhoyono said.
Earlier Saturday, Indonesian police raided a home near the capital city of Jakarta, where two suspected militants were killed, and bombs were seized from a car, police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said.
Since 2002, Indonesian police have arrested more than 200 militants associated with the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network. Many of the militants they have arrested have ties to Noordin, who has escaped capture several times.
Noordin has been linked to a number of deadly terrorist bombings including the attack on Jakarta's J.W. Marriott Hotel in 2003 and a blast outside the Australian Embassy in 2004, also in Indonesia's capital.
He is also believed to have been a major player in the recent attacks on the Ritz-Carlton and the J.W. Marriott hotels on July 17. The blasts killed eight people and injured more than 50 others, including two Canadians. Within hours, suspicion fell to Noordin and parts of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network.
An Internet posting under his name claimed responsibility for the recent Jakarta attacks, though it has not been made clear if the claim was authentic. Noordin himself, however, was not formally named as a suspect.
In total, the bombings that have been linked to Noordin killed more than 240 people, including many Western tourists.
Noordin is believed to have joined Jemaah Islamiyah in 1998 when he lived in Malaysia, before moving to Indonesia four years later. He later started Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad, a more violent group which he reportedly called the "al Qaeda for the Malay archipelago."
With files from The Associated Press
