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 federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

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 injurin ...

, 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 national ...

2002 Makassar bombing A bomb exploded within a McDonald's restaurant in Makassar, Indonesia, on December 5, 2002. The McDonald’s restaurant was located in the Ratu Indah shopping mall, in Makassar. These bomb actions were conducted by the Islamic group “ Laskar Jun ...

2004 Poso bus bombing The 2004 Poso bus bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, on 13 November 2004. It targeted a bus travelling to the majority Christian village of Silancak. The bomb, an improvised explosive device, exploded ...

and

2005 Tentena market bombings A market in the center of Tentena, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia was bombed on 28 May 2005. Two improvised explosive devices, set to explode 15 minutes apart, detonated during the morning, killing 22 and wounding at least 40 more. The fatalities ...

. 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 Gui ...

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 borde ...

. 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 including ...

. 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, a ...

and was implicated in the

, the

and the

2005 Bali bombings The 2005 Bali bombings were a series of terrorist suicide bomb and a series of car bombs and attacks that occurred on 1 October 2005, in Bali, Indonesia. Bombs exploded at two sites in Jimbaran Beach Resort and in Kuta away, both in south B ...

. 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 criminal p ...

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 prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

; 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 Asmar Latin Sani ( – 5 August 2003) was the suicide bomber from West Sumatra who detonated the car bomb in the 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing. His severed head was later found on the fifth floor of the building. Before the 2003 Marriott Hotel bombin ...

, 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 histor ...

, at his home in Bengkulu on the island of

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

. Both men were close associates of Jemaah Islamiyah's former operational chief,

Riduan Isamuddin Riduan Isamuddin also transliterated as Riduan Isamudin, Riduan Isomuddin, and Riduan Isomudin, better known by the ''nom de guerre'' Hambali, born as Encep Nurjaman (April 4, 1964) is the former military leader of the Indonesian terrorist org ...

(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 Malang (; ) is a landlocked city in the Indonesian province of East Java. It has a history dating back to the age of Singhasari Kingdom. It is the second most populous city in the province, with a population of 820,043 at the 2010 Census and ...

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 ...

with

Detachment 88 Counterterrorism Special Detachment 88 ( id, Detasemen Khusus 88 Antiteror), or Densus 88, is a tier one Indonesian National Police counter-terrorism squad formed on 30 June 2003, after the 2002 Bali bombings. It is funded, equipped, and trained b ...

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