Hunt stepped up for fugitive Noordin in remote East Java hills

Police and troops have scoured hilly areas of Gondang district in Mojokerto regency, East Java, over the last two days in a hunt for terrorist mastermind Noordin M. Top.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Paulus Purwoko said Wednesday the search was conducted for an armed group, believed to be led by Noordin, that was reportedly hiding out in Semar and Kukusan hills and was stealing food from locals.

The area is about 60 kilometers north of the hill town of Batu, where Noordin's accomplice Azahari Husin was slain by police in a raid last November.

"Anti-terror police combed the area as of yesterday but we haven't received any results of the operation."

The hunt, he added, was launched in response to reports by residents of Dilem village, who complained of the theft of their food supplies.

Malaysian-born Noordin is blamed for masterminding a series of deadly bombings in Indonesia.

"What I heard was Dilem villagers complaining about the rampant food thefts, with the supplies believed to have been taken to Semar hill," said village chief Sutris from Blentreng.

Investigators from the East Java Police were told by locals that one of the thieves resembled Noordin. After surveillance of the area for nearly a week, the police and soldiers conducted a search Wednesday, especially locations believed to have been used as hideouts.

The group was believed to have lived near a spring.

Mojokerto Military commander Col. Sentot Maksum explained that the team of soldiers was deployed at three spots -- Bagagan Limo, Ngembat and Liman villages. The team, divided into five groups, would be deployed at the sites for three days.

The soldiers are equipped with weapons, including attack rifles and sniper rifles. "This is a standard operation gun which will be used when they are forced to," Sentot said, adding that each group would pass along paths rarely used by locals to prevent detection.

"We will try to capture the fugitive terrorists alive, but if they resist arrest, our soldiers will not hesitate to use their weapons to take them dead or alive," Sentot said.