“Indonesia: Terror Leader Believed Killed,” from AP, with thanks to Bryce:
JAKARTA, Indonesia — One of southeast Asia’s most-wanted terrorist suspects, accused of plotting a series of deadly bombings in Bali, was believed to have been killed Wednesday when an elite Indonesian anti-terrorism unit stormed a suspected militant hideout, police said.
Azahari bin Husin, a Malaysian accused of leading an al-Qaida-linked group and masterminding at least four deadly blasts in Indonesia in recent years, either was shot to death or blew himself up to avoid capture, senior police official Gen. Gorries Mere told The Associated Press.
Local TV stations reported that Azahari, who security officials have said always wore explosives around his waist to avoid being captured alive, blew himself up during the operation.
“We suspect it is him,” said Mere, Indonesia’s deputy chief of detectives. He cited “men in the field” as the source of the information….
Officials say Azahari, who is in his 40s, is a key member of the al-Qaida-linked terror group Jemaah Islamiyah. The group wants to establish an Islamic state spanning Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the southern Philippines.