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Bali Bombing Suspect Killed in Java Raid


Dulmatin, a high-ranking member of the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group, was one of three people killed in separate raids Tuesday

Indonesian police confirm that they have killed one of the country's most wanted terrorism suspects. Dulmatin was allegedly an al-Qaeda-trained bomb-maker who played a role in the Bali bombing in 2002.

Indonesian National Police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri Wednesday said that the militant group Jemaah Islamiah's top bomb technician, Dulmatin, was killed in a police raid.

He says they used accountable and professional measures to determine the suspect is Dulmatin.

These measures, he said, included DNA and photographic evidence.

Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono earlier Wednesday had announced Dulmatin's death.

Dulmatin was one of the most-wanted leaders of the Jemaah Islamiyah militant group. The United States offered a $10 million bounty for him.

Danuri refused to say whether the police will claim the reward, saying their only interest is in protecting public safety.

Dulmatin was accused of setting and triggering one of the bombs used in an attack on the island of Bali in 2002 that killed 202 people. Until recently it was believed that he was in the Philippines where he had joined the Islamist separatist group Abu Sayyaf.

His death is a major victory for Indonesia's counterterrorism unit, which has severely weakened the militant branch of Jemaah Islamiyah over the past eight years, killing or capturing most of its senior leaders.

Police encountered Dulmatin Tuesday during a raid on the outskirts of Jakarta. The raid was one of series of police actions that began in Aceh province after it was discovered that a JI cell was operating a militant training facility there. Danuri says three police were killed by terror suspects in these raids.

He says they lost some of their members but they also found a high-value suspect wanted by other countries.

Danuri says police arrested 16 terror suspects in Aceh, killed two more near Jakarta and captured a number of weapons, ammunition and money transfer receipts.

The announcement of Dulmatin's death comes little more than a week before President Barack Obama arrives in Jakarta for a two-day visit. Mr. Obama spent four years living in Jakarta as a boy with his mother and Indonesian step-father.

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