DNA TESTING CONFIRMS BODY NOT NOORDIN M. TOP'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 001337 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, EAP/INR, S/CT, DS, CA NSC FOR J.BADER E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/12/2019 TAGS: PGOV PTER PINS ASEC ID SUBJECT: DNA TESTING CONFIRMS BODY NOT NOORDIN M. TOP'S REF: JAKARTA 1329 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Indonesian police announced on August 12 that the body of a suspect killed in the August 7-8 operation in Central Java was not that of terrorist leader Noordin M. Top. DNA testing conducted on samples taken from his family confirmed that the body was not Top's; instead, the body was that of Ibrohim, alias Boim, who has been the subject of a manhunt for his role in the July 17 bombings. In the meantime, the GOI is intensifying its search for terrorists who--like Top--remain at large. END SUMMARY. IT WASN'T TOP ¶2. (SBU) Noordin M. Top remains on the run. Eddy Saparwoko, Head of the Indonesian National Police (INP) Victim Identification Unit, announced on August 12 that DNA testing of the bodies and samples taken from Top's family members proved the body was not Top's. Instead, the body was that of Ibrohim, described by INP Chief as "a planner and arranger of the bombings." Ibrohim was employed as a Ritz-Carlton florist and is suspected of having facilitated the entry of a suicide bomber into the hotel. He was last seen on hotel security cameras shortly before the bombing. (Note: The July 17 bombings of the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in central Jakarta left 9 dead--including the two suicide bombers--and 53 injured.) AN END TO THE SPECULATION ¶3. (U) The announcement of the results of the DNA testing ended speculation that Top had been killed in the August 7-8 police operation in Central Java. (Note: Police operations during that timeframe took out two terrorist safe-havens, one in Temanggung, Central Java, and the other in Bekasi, a suburb of Jakarta.) A frenzy of media speculation on August 8 asserted that Top had been killed in the Temanggung operation. GOI sources and the media quickly began to backtrack, saying that it was not clear who was killed pending the results of DNA testing. Various police and local officials publicly took the media to task for dramatizing the raids and whipping up speculation as to Top's fate. INVESTIGATION MOVES FORWARD DESPITE SEVERED LINKS ¶4. (C) The death of Ibrohim is significant--he played a key role in the July 17 bombings. Unfortunately, he was the last known active and on-site participant in the bombings and it seems that potentially critical information channels have been cut with his demise. ¶5. (C) In the meantime, the investigation moves forward. The police have stated that they are following all leads and that there will be additional operations in the future. The topic of civilian responsibility for combatting terrorism was also raised by Fauzi Bowo, Governor of Jakarta, during a meeting attended by hundreds of officials responsible for governing Jakarta. He stressed that the public could play a key role in assisting police and government officials in the investigation for the terrorists. Bowo's comments are similar to those of the Central Java Governor who last week urged citizens there to send in tips to the police and to other local authorities. HUME