Indonesian Police Target Terror Suspects

Indonesian police say they have launched a series of raids against suspected hardline Islamic terrorists, including the alleged mastermind of suicide bombings last month in Jakarta.

But there was conflicting information coming from police and media on whether leading terror suspect Noordin Top had been arrested, killed or surrounded inside a home in Temanggung, Central Java.

Shooting which began Friday evening at his alleged hideout continued into Saturday, with gunmen firing back at a special anti-terror unit from inside the compound.

In a separate raid late Friday in the Bekasi area on the outskirts of Jakarta, police said they killed two militants and found bombs. Several arrests were also reported during both raids.

The July 17 attacks on the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta killed nine people and wounded more than 50.

The Malaysian-born fugitive Top is one of the most wanted men in south-east Asia. He has been linked to previous terror attacks in Indonesia and to the al-Qaida-linked regional group, Jemaah Islamiyah.

Indonesian officials were also quoted as saying police had identified the two suicide bombers from the July attacks, a 19-year-old man and a 28-year-old man.