INDONESIAN COUNTERTERRORISM SUCCESS CONTINUES, BUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001581 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, S/CT, DS/IP/EAP, DS/TIA/ITA NSC FOR J.BADER, D.WALTON DS FOR COMMAND CENTER, FRONT OFFICE E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/19/2009 TAGS: PGOV PTER PINS ASEC ID SUBJECT: INDONESIAN COUNTERTERRORISM SUCCESS CONTINUES, BUT TERRORISM THREAT REMAINS REF: JAKARTA 1572 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Charge d'Affaire Ted Osius, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. This is an action request. Please see paragraph 8. ¶2. (C) SUMMARY: The apparent slaying of terrorist leader Noordin M. Top is the latest and most prominent in a string of GOI counterterrorism successes. The police have stated that fingerprint analysis has confirmed Top was killed in a September 17 raid. Sensitive to concerns following erroneous reports of Top's death in August, however, the INP will conduct further DNA analysis. Indonesia reacted with elation to the news, and the police were showered with praise by the Indonesian public and media. While Top's reported death is important, remnants of his network still pose a threat. END SUMMARY. GOI CHECKING DNA TO CONFIRM TOP'S DEATH ¶3. (C) A visibly pleased Indonesian National Police (INP) Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri announced Top's death on national television on September 17 (ref a). Danuri said a fingerprint analysis of samples taken from a body killed during the September 16-17 counterterrorism operation in Solo, Central Java, was compared to samples provided by Malaysian authorities and that the samples matched. Danuri went on to say that DNA testing would be conducted on the body to conclusively prove that Top had been killed. A time frame for the announcement of the DNA results has not been given. Given the INP's embarrassment over the incorrect reports that Top had been killed during August 7-8 safehouse raids in Central Java, the INP is sensibly stressing the need for conclusive proof. INDONESIANS REACT WITH RELIEF ¶4. (C) Indonesians reacted overwhelmingly with elation to the news that Top is dead. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) thanked the INP and its counter-terrorism teams and said that the successful CT operation had "removed a feared figure who...ruined our image in the international community and paralyzed the national economy." Many members of Parliament issued statements congratulating the police for killing the mastermind of the July 17 bombings in Jakarta and other attacks. Nahdlatul Ulama (NU),Indonesia's largest Muslim Group, released a statement by Deputy Chairman Masdar Mas'udi that praised the INP for the results of the raid, but cautioned that "there are extremist groups who are ready to continue the horrible story" and suggested that moderate Muslim groups join together to promote moderation more actively. A THREAT REMAINS ¶5. (C) Despite Top's death, the terrorist threat remains. International Crisis Group (ICG) Senior Advisor Sidney Jones--while asserting that Indonesia's terrorists have taken a severe hit--told POLOFF that the remnants of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) did not necessarily need a formal leadership structure to operate and said Top's death may make him a martyr among his network's followers. Jones asserted that the INP lost an opportunity to obtain information from Top on his JI splinter network. ¶6. (C) At this point, the number of extremists tied to Top who are left on their own recognizance is not known. That said, there are still some wanted terrorists out there. The INP is still pursuing, for example, Tono, senior bomb maker and trainer. They are also pursuing Saifuddin Zuhri bin Jaelani Irshad, alias Sabit (brother-in-law of Ibrohim, the hotel florist employee killed in the Central Java raid on August 8) and his brother Mohamad Syahrir, a technician for Garuda Airlines. The two are suspected to have been the recruiters for the two July 17 suicide bombers. The size of the explosive caches seized in safe houses around Central Java on September 17 and in recent weeks points to a continuing availability of funding. For example, the September 17 raid netted over 400 pounds of explosives, JAKARTA 00001581 002 OF 002 detonators, guns, grenades, and bombs. GOI'S CONTINUED SUCCESS ¶7. (C) The apparent slaying of terrorist leader Noordin M. Top is the latest and most prominent in a string of GOI counterterrorism successes. Dozens of extremists have been arrested in the past several years and convicted of terrorist-related crimes. Meanwhile, more than a handful have died in gun battles The Bali bombers were also executed last year in an action that netted little by way of blowback against the government. All that said, a threat remains and now is not the time to become complacent. The GOI needs to continue to keep its eye on the ball and work inter-agency to further marginalize the extremist fringe and thus prevent attacks like that on July 17. ¶8. (C) Action Request: If DNA tests confirm that Noordin Top is dead, the Department may wish to consider a congratulatory message from an appropriate level to the GOI . Top was responsible for the death of 7 Americans in the 2005 Bali bombing. Of note, Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's congratulatory message to the GOI received wide media coverage in Indonesia. OSIUS