BATU Malang (Indonesia), Nov 9: A man suspected of being Azahari Husin, one of Asia’s top terror suspects, blew himself up after being cornered by police Wednesday but Indonesian authorities will have to wait at least a day to identify the body, a lawmaker and police said.

Azahari, a Malaysian from the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaaah Islamiyah (JI) militant network and known as the “Demolition Man”, was strongly suspected of being one of three men who detonated explosives and killed themselves after a shootout with police in the sleepy town of Batu, East Java province.

If confirmed, his death would be a major coup for Indonesian security services against JI — which was suspected in another deadly bombing on the resort island of Bali last month.

National police chief General Sutanto told a press conference that he could not immediately say whether one of the three was Azahari, who is suspected of masterminding a string of deadly blasts in Indonesia and supplying bombs used in the 2002 Bali bombings.—AFP