BOM JW MARRIOT-RIZT CARLTON: Man Killed 'Not Noordin'

JAKARTA LIFE'S STYLE. THE fingerprints and facial features of a man killed in a shoot-out with police on Saturday are different from those of Noordin Top, leading to growing belief among officials that the Malaysian terrorist has escaped again.

Another factor which led police to believe that Noordin is probably still at large was a former follower who viewed the body and concluded that it was not Noordin's.

But despite the mounting evidence, police have not officially ruled out Noordin's death and are sticking to the line that DNA tests are required.

Fingerprint analysis confirmed that the man was not the 40-year-old Malaysian, a police source involved in the probe told news agency Agence France-Presse. 'It's not him. We know from his facial structure as well as his fingerprints,' the source said, requesting anonymity. 'We're continuing to track his whereabouts.'

The Jakarta Globe newspaper, quoting two counter-terrorism officials, also said it was not Noordin who was killed in the farmhouse in Temanggung, Central Java, on Saturday.

They said intense media coverage of the raid, which began late on Friday afternoon when the area was surrounded, had perpetuated the belief that a man found dead inside was the Noordin. 'Based on his fingerprints, his facial features and body posture, we can confirm that he is not Noordin,' said a senior official from the police anti-terror unit Detachment 88.

A National Police official said forensic investigators had enlisted a convicted terrorist named Usman, a former Noordin follower who was released from prison in May after serving a four-year sentence, in identifying the body. 'Usman confirmed at first glance that it was not Noordin,' the official said.

But formally, Noordin's death has not been ruled out. 'Whoever the man is, it should be proved in a scientific way,' National Police spokesman Nanan Soekarna said.

Police have taken blood samples from Noordin's children in Malaysia and results of the DNA tests are expected in between one and two weeks.

Noordin is wanted for multiple suicide bombings against 'iconic' Western targets in Indonesia since 2003. The twin suicide blasts at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta on July 17, which killed nine people, are also believed to have been masterminded by him. (english.kompas.com)