Dr. Azahari bin Husin (14 September 1957 – 9 November 2005), also Azahari Husin, Azhari Husin, was a
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
n who was believed to be the technical mastermind behind the
Philippine consulate bombing in Jakarta
The Philippine consulate bombing of Jakarta occurred on 1 August 2000 in Menteng, Jakarta, Indonesia. A bomb was detonated outside the official residence of the Philippine ambassador to Indonesia, Leonides Caday, killing two people and injuring ...
,
Jakarta Stock Exchange bombing,
Christmas Eve 2000 Indonesia bombings,
2002 Bali bombings
The 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack killed 202 people (including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 23 Britons, and people of more than 20 other nationali ...
,
2002 Makassar bombing,
2004 Poso bus bombing and
2005 Tentena market bombings. He was killed in a
police raid
A police raid is an unexpected visit by police or other law-enforcement officers with the aim of using the element of surprise in order to seize evidence or arrest suspects believed to be likely to hide evidence, resist arrest, be politicall ...
on his hideout in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
in 2005. He was nicknamed the "Demolition Man".
History
He received extensive bomb training in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...
. He authored the JI bomb manual, used in the Philippine consulate bombing in Jakarta, Jakarta Stock Exchange bombing, the Christmas Eve bombing, the Bali bombing, and the
2003 Marriott Hotel bombing
The 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing occurred on August 5, 2003 in Mega Kuningan, South Jakarta, Indonesia. A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb outside the lobby of the JW Marriott Hotel, killing 12 people and injuring 150. Those killed includin ...
. He also planned the
2004 Jakarta embassy bombing
The Australian embassy bombing in Jakarta took place on September 9, 2004 in Indonesia.
A one-tonne car bomb, which was packed into a small Daihatsu delivery van, exploded outside the Australian embassy at Kuningan District, South Jakarta, at a ...
and was implicated in the
2002 Makassar bombing, the
2004 Poso bus bombing, the
2005 Tentena market bombings and the
2005 Bali bombings. Prior to his death, he was one of the most wanted men in Indonesia along with
Noordin Mohammad Top.
In July 2004, Husin and Noordin narrowly escaped a police raid on a rented house west of Jakarta, where
forensic
Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and crimin ...
experts later found traces of explosives used in the embassy bombing. Neighbours described both as reclusive men who left the property only to pray at a nearby
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a Place of worship, place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (sujud) ...
; and they said that before the bombing, they saw the duo loading heavy boxes into a white delivery van which is the same type used in that attack.
Before the Marriott Hotel bombing, Husin is known to have stayed with
Asmar Latin Sani, the suspected Marriott
suicide bomber
A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout history ...
, at his home in Bengkulu on the island of
Sumatra.
Both men were close associates of Jemaah Islamiyah's former operational chief,
Riduan Isamuddin (better known as Hambali), who was captured in
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
in 2003.
Death
On November 9, 2005, Indonesian police, acting on a tip-off, located Husin. They conducted a raid on one of his hideouts in Batu, near
Malang in
East Java
East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean border its northern and so ...
with
Detachment 88 operators sent to assist regular police officers. Three suspected
jihadist
Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
terrorists barricaded themselves inside a house and they put up stiff resistance, throwing grenades and firing bullets at the police outside. This was followed by a series of explosions, one of which was a suicide blast by his assistant setting off his bomb vest.
Gatra.Com
Police identified the intact corpse of Azahari, with a bullet wound in his chest.[Chew, Amy (10 November 2005). "Azahari Dead". '']New Straits Times
The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as ''The Straits Times'' on 15 July 1845. It was relaunched as the ' ...
'', p. 1, 4. Husin was shot and killed by a police sniper, after which one of his disciples blew himself up to prevent him from being taken alive.
References
External links
* https://web.archive.org/web/20040730085001/http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2003/20030210_bali_confessions/suspects.htm
* http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/10/1094789690535.html
* http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4421300.stm
* https://web.archive.org/web/20110607124514/http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/fin_sanctions_alqaida_190410.pdf
{{DEFAULTSORT:Husin, Azahari
1957 births
2005 deaths
People from Johor
Malaysian people of Malay descent
Malaysian Muslims
Malaysian Islamists
Malaysian criminals
Jemaah Islamiyah
Alumni of the University of Reading
People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Indonesia