Suicide plot to kill president

POLICE were yesterday trying to identify the body of a suspected terrorist killed in a farmhouse gun battle after discovering a plot to kill Indonesia’s president in a suicide car bombing.

Forensics teams planned to collect DNA samples from family members of regional terror mastermind Noordin Muhammad Top, who was reportedly killed during a 16-hour fight with officers in central Java on Saturday, said Dynno Chressbon, a government anti-terrorism adviser.

One of Noordin’s wives and children were travelling to the capital Jakarta to provide samples, Chressbon said.

Noordin is a Malaysian citizen, blamed for some of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Southeast Asian in recent years, and a self- proclaimed al-Qaida commander.

“We cannot yet confirm that this is Noordin Top,” national police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri said, while Chressbon said: “I indeed doubt that the victim is the suspected terrorist Noordin Top.”