Noordin Top Reportedly Sighted in Indonesia
By Kenneth Conboy
It has been almost a year since the Indonesian authorities released detailed information about the believed whereabouts of Jemaah Islamiyah fugitive Noordin Top. At that time, he was believed to be hiding in the vicinity of Pekalongan, Central Java. Yesterday, however, the police announced that they had recent solid evidence Top was suffering from a liver ailment and had sought treatment at a clinic in Tuban district, East Java. Despite a search of Tuban, however, the ever-elusive Top once more apparently slipped the government dragnet.
Elsewhere in East Java, the authorities announced that they were being extra vigilant around Malang district. This is because another Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist, Mas Slamet Kastari, was caught there in early 2006 before being deported to his native Singapore--and there is speculation that he might once again seek santuary in that part of East Java since his escape from Singaporean detention. (Of course, the circumstances surrounding Mas Slamet Kastari's supposed escape from a high-security Singaporean prison continues to defy logic...and perhaps credibility.)
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