Gempa Padang, Tujuh Luka dan Satu rumah Roboh

Minggu, 16 Agustus 2009

Gempa berkekuatan 6,9 skala Richter yang terjadi di Kepulauan Mentawai mengakibatkan tujuh orang luka-luka.

"Di Padang yang juga merasakan getaran ada tujuh orang yang mengalami luka-luka," kata Kepala Pusat Penanggulangan Krisis Departemen Kesehatan Rustam S Pakaya kepada Tempo, Minggu (16/08).

Ketujuh orang tersebut adalah Ilham Wili (20) luka robek, Deni (47), Sarila (61), Yulia Indri (17), Yuci (18), Salsa Anugrah (11), dan Daus (30). Selain itu di Kampung Panurakan, kampung yang berada diperbatasan Padang dan Solok ada satu rumah yang roboh.

"Tembok belakang rumah ini roboh," ujar Rustam. Saat ini pihaknya, lanjut Rustam terus berkoordinasi dengan petugas lapangan dilokasi. Belum ada petugas dari Jakarta yang direncanakan akan dikirim. "Koordinasi saja, semoga semuanya baik".

Rustam juga mengatakan bahwa berdasarkan data yang diterimanya gempa tersebut juga dirasakan di Riau, Bengkulu, dan Sumatra Barat. "Tapi di Siberut aman," ujarnya.

READ MORE - Gempa Padang, Tujuh Luka dan Satu rumah Roboh

7 die, 91 wounded in blast near NATO HQ in Kabul

AP – The site of a suicide car bomb explosion which occurred near the main gate of NATO's headquarters in …

By RAHIM FAIEZ and JASON STRAZIUSO

KABUL – A suicide car bomb exploded Saturday outside the main gate of NATO's headquarters five days before Afghanistan's presidential election, killing seven and wounding 91 in the biggest attack in the Afghan capital in six months.

The bomber evaded several rings of Afghan police and detonated his explosives on the doorstep of the international military headquarters, an assault possibly aimed at sending the message that the Taliban can attack anywhere as Afghans gear up for their second-ever direct presidential election. Militants have warned Afghans not to vote and have threatened to attack voting sites.

The NATO headquarters — where top commander U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal is based — sits beside the U.S. Embassy and shares the same street as the presidential palace. The explosion was the first major attack in Kabul since February, when eight Taliban militants struck three government buildings simultaneously in the heart of the city, an assault that killed 20 people and the eight assailants.

Afghanistan has braced for attacks ahead of the election. International workers in the country were planning on working from home over the next week or had been encouraged to leave the country. U.S., NATO and Afghan troops were working to protect voting sites, particularly in regions where militants hold sway.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack and said Afghans knew the importance of Thursday's election.

"The enemies of Afghanistan, by conducting such attacks, are trying to create fear among the people as we get close to the election," Karzai said in a statement. He said Afghans "are not afraid of any threats, and they will go to cast their votes."

Bloodied and dazed Afghans wandered the street after Saturday's blast, which rattled the capital and sent a black plume of smoke skyward. Children — many of whom congregate outside the NATO gate to sell gum to Westerners — were among the wounded. Windows of nearby antique shops were shattered and blood smeared the ground.

The Taliban claimed responsibility and said the target was the NATO headquarters and the U.S. Embassy some 150 yards (meters) down the street. A top Kabul police official blamed al-Qaida.

Brig. Gen. E. Tremblay, the spokesman for the NATO-led force, said some soldiers in the International Security Assistance Force were wounded in the 8:35 a.m. blast. He did not say how many. The explosion occurred 30 yards (meters) from NATO's front gate, he said. Pointing to the civilian casualties, Tremblay said the Taliban were "indiscriminately killing civilians."

Afghan security forces stopped the vehicle in front of NATO headquarters, and then the bomber detonated the explosives, Tremblay said.

"The security measures in place have stopped cold the bombers as planned," he said, calling the latest attack an example of the "residual risk" that remained despite the safety measures taken. "It's very difficult to stop a suicide bomber."

The blast killed seven Afghans and wounded 91, Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, said.

Four Afghan soldiers and Awa Alam Nuristani, a member of parliament and President Hamid Karzai's campaign manager for women, were among the wounded, the ministry said.

"I was drinking tea in our office when a big explosion happened," said Abdul Fahim, an Afghan in his mid-20s who sustained leg injuries. "I lay on the ground and then I saw wounded victims everywhere, including police and civilians."

The chief of Kabul's criminal investigation department, Abdul Ghafar Sayadzada, said 600 pounds (272 kilograms) of explosives were used, and that because of the amount he suspected al-Qaida was involved. The attacker passed three police checkpoints, Sayadzada said.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the blast and said the bomb contained 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms) of explosives. Mujahid at first said the bomber was on foot, then later called back and said it was a suicide car bomb attack.

The attack falls in line with increasingly spectacular and sophisticated strikes carried out by Afghanistan militants. The Taliban have carried out several coordinated attacks in the last several months with multiple teams of insurgents assaulting government sites. Military analysts have said the increased sophistication comes from training by al-Qaida operatives.

NATO headquarters has several large, cement blocks and steel gates that prevent anyone from reaching the entrance, and the bomber was not able to breach those barriers. Afghanistan's Transportation Ministry lies across the street from NATO headquarters.

Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, said a suicide bomber named Ahmadullah from the Bagrami district of Kabul province carried out Saturday's attack.

A driver from the nearby Defense Ministry said he took at least 12 people to the hospital. Most were seriously wounded, said the driver, who spoke to an Associated Press reporter at the scene but didn't want to give his name because of safety concerns.

Kabul has been relatively quiet over the last half year, though militants have launched a barrage of rockets into the capital this month, most of which landed harmlessly in open spaces.

Security has increased over the last several weeks in preparation for Thursday's vote.

READ MORE - 7 die, 91 wounded in blast near NATO HQ in Kabul

Parched California scorched by multiple wildfires

AP – Bonny Doon residents watch as smoke billows over a field in Santa Cruz County, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. …

By JARED GRIGSBY,

DAVENPORT, Calif. – Thick, white smoke filled the air around Santa Cruz Saturday as firefighters battled a Northern California wildfire in steep, rugged terrain.

The Lockheed Fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains has blackened close to 8 square miles of remote wilderness since Wednesday and prompted mandatory evacuations of the mountain communities of Swanton and Bonny Doon, which have about 2,400 residents and several wineries.

The fire didn't spread overnight, and was 30 percent contained Saturday morning, said CalFire spokesman John Buchanan. No homes had been destroyed, and no injuries were reported. The blaze damaged two small structures and was threatening more than 1,000 homes and buildings. The cause is under investigation.

Other blazes throughout the parched state have forced evacuations and knocked out power. Smoke from a blaze in Yuba County north of Sacramento could be seen as far away as Reno.

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi declared a state of emergency Friday for Santa Cruz County. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has returned to California after attending the Massachusetts funeral of his mother-in-law, Eunice Shriver, is scheduled to visit the fire zone Saturday.

The Lockheed Fire blaze started Wednesday about 10 miles north of Santa Cruz. A change in winds shifted the fire away from Bonny Doon but closer to Swanton, CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant said.

The steep, rugged terrain and dense vegetation have made it difficult to contain the blaze, so firefighters are focused on keeping flames away from homes, said Jim Stunkel, a battalion chief from San Jose.

"As the brush ignites, it's like a fireworks explosion, and the sparks rain down where the ranch houses are," he said.

Chris Sokoloff, 40, an electrician who moved to Bonny Doon from Portland, Ore., a week ago, spent the night at an evacuation center in Santa Cruz.

"It's really hit home this morning, seeing all the ash on the vehicles," Sokoloff said. "I got a big red hockey bag and that's all I got right now."

Hannah Good, a veterinarian who lives in Bonny Doon with her partner and two children, said workers helped to evacuate her birds, cats, donkey, pony and dog.

"It was quite a scramble getting the animals and our family out of there," Good said. "Once I smelled the smoke, I knew we had problems."

Meanwhile, about 250 homes and ranches in canyons and ridges near a wildfire in the Los Padres National Forest remained under evacuation orders. The week-old fire has grown to nearly 118 square miles, said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Vicki Collins.

In Yuba County north of Sacramento, a wildfire covering more than 1000 acres Friday destroyed two homes, forced the evacuation of about 120 residences and knocked out power in the Sierra foothills town of Dobbins, according to CalFire spokeswoman Joann Cartoscelli.

More than 400 firefighters had contained about 35 percent of the fire — about double what was contained the night before — and were expected to make a decision Saturday afternoon on whether some residents could return to their homes, Cartoscelli said.

Crews also were trying to prevent the fire from spreading to the Colgate Powerhouse, the oldest powerhouse in the state. It provides electricity to the Dobbins area.

In Alameda County, more than 300 firefighters were struggling to control a wind-driven grass fire that had grown to about 23 square miles near Tracy, according to a CalFire report. The Corral Fire was threatening one home and was moving toward the juncture of Interstate 5 and Interstate 580, where officials worried it could affect visibility and traffic. It was about 20 percent contained.

In far northern California, Trinity County District Attorney Michael Harper has charged 60-year-old Brenda Eitzen of Los Molinos with two felonies and two misdemeanors alleging she negligently sparked a blaze by throwing away a lit cigarette Wednesday. The charges could bring a maximum four-year prison term. The Coffin Fire was expected to be contained later Saturday.

To the east, 10 rural homes remained evacuated as wind spread a fire in steep terrain near Burney. Firefighters had contained about 85 percent of the nearly 11-square-mile blaze about 200 miles north of Sacramento.

"They are making very good progress" said James Stewart, a CalFire spokesman. "It's just a matter of putting everything out now."

READ MORE - Parched California scorched by multiple wildfires

Senator wins release of US prisoner in Myanmar

AP – U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, a Virginia Democrat, and his wife, Hong Le Webb, pose for photos during a visit …

YANGON, Myanmar – U.S. Sen. Jim Webb won the release Saturday of an American prisoner convicted in Myanmar and sentenced to seven years in prison for swimming secretly to the residence of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the senator's office said.

During Webb's visit to Myanmar — the first by a member of the U.S. Congress in more than a decade — the senator also secured a rare visit with Suu Kyi, who was convicted along with the American, John Yettaw, and sentenced to 18 more months under house arrest. She has been detained for 14 of the last 20 years.

Yettaw is to be officially deported Sunday, when he will fly with Webb on a military plane to Bangkok, according to a statement from Webb's office.

The 53-year-old from Falcoln, Missouri, has been held in Insein, Myanmar's largest prison, notorious for widespread torture and other abuse of both political prisoners and ordinary criminals.

Yettaw's lawyer has said his client was well-treated, though he fell ill while incarcerated. Before his conviction on Tuesday, he spent a week in a prison hospital for epileptic seizures. He is also said to suffer from asthma and diabetes.

"If it's true, of course I'm extremely happy and we're ecstatic," Betty Yettaw told The Associated Press, referring to reports that her husband would be freed. When reached by phone Saturday morning, she said had yet to receive any official notice.

The junta may have approved the meeting with Suu Kyi and agreed to release Yettaw to quell the torrent of international criticism against Myanmar following the trial and Tuesday's verdict. In July, authorities barred U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon from meeting with Suu Kyi during a two-day visit.

Webb, the statement said, requested that Suu Kyi be released during a meeting with junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe on Saturday. It was the first time the reclusive general had met with a senior U.S. official.

"It is my hope that we can take advantage of these gestures as a way to begin laying the foundations of goodwill and confidence building in the future," Webb was quoted as saying.

On Saturday, the 64-year-old Nobel Peace laureate was driven from her residence to a nearby government guest house for a 40-minute meeting with Webb, then reporters saw her taken home by car.

Webb, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's East Asia and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, described the meeting as "an opportunity ... to convey my deep respect to Aung San Suu Kyi for the sacrifices she has made on behalf of democracy around the world."

The senator, who arrived in Myanmar's capital of Naypyitaw on Friday, was scheduled to address reporters in Yangon on Sunday.

The visit — particularly the meetings with senior officials and Suu Kyi — was unusual because of the poor state of relations between Myanmar, also known as Burma, and the U.S. Many critics said it was bad timing for outreach — only days after the junta flouted international appeals that Suu Kyi be cleared of the latest charges. It also drew criticism from activists who say it confers legitimacy on a brutal regime.

While Washington has traditionally been Myanmar's strongest critic, applying political and economic sanctions against the junta, President Barack Obama's new ambassador for East Asia, Kurt Campbell, recently said the administration is interested in easing its policy of isolation. Webb has said that "affirmative engagement" could bring the most change to Myanmar, concerning those who think a hard line is the best approach.

Britain's ambassador to the United Nations suggested Webb's visit could help persuade the junta to free Suu Kyi.

"If the Americans can get the generals to see that their country's interest is reflected in taking interest in reconciliation, releasing Aung San Suu Kyi and holding free and fair elections, that would be very helpful." John Sawyers told BBC Radio 4 on Saturday.

But in a letter to Webb, dissident groups warned the junta would use the senator's trip for its own ends.

"We are concerned that the military regime will manipulate and exploit your visit and propagandize that you endorse their treatment on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and over 2,100 political prisoners, their human rights abuses on the people of Burma, and their systematic, widespread and ongoing attack against the ethnic minorities," the letter said. Daw is a term of respect for older women in Myanmar.

Possibly reflecting a similar wariness, a spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy said the party "has no interest in Jim Webb because he is not known to have any interest in Myanmar affairs." He did not elaborate.

Official media, however, appeared to herald Webb's arrival. The nightly broadcast led with the visit, reporting that the senator met with Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein on Friday, and returned to the subject several times during the night.

Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The junta called elections in 1990 but refused to honor the results when Suu Kyi's party won overwhelmingly.

READ MORE - Senator wins release of US prisoner in Myanmar

Campaign tactics back as Obama presses health care

By LIZ SIDOTI

BIG SKY, Mont. – President Barack Obama is using political tactics and rhetorical devices honed in his White House campaign to regain the upper hand in the health care debate over increasingly vocal and organized critics.

In person and over the Internet, Obama is trying to counter intense public skepticism over Democratic plans to overhaul the health care system. It's his top domestic priority and arguably his most challenging political fight yet.

Familiar tools from the Obama candidacy include the town hall meetings where he rolls up his sleeves and discards his tie and jacket; a rapid-response Web site to counter critics' claims; and a populist pitch against the entrenched powers in Washington.

Plus he's got the bully pulpit, which he used Saturday.

"I know there's plenty of real concern and skepticism out there," he said in his weekly radio and Internet address. "I know that in a time of economic upheaval, the idea of change can be unsettling, and I know that there are folks who believe that government should have no role at all in solving our problems."

Carefully trying not to alienate opponents even while taking them on, he cited "legitimate differences worthy of the real discussion that America deserves." But as Democratic allies face taunts and insults at town hall style gatherings, Obama asked his audience to "lower our voices, listen to one another and talk about differences that really exist."

In the GOP's address, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch pressed for a bipartisan solution.

"Ensuring access to affordable and quality health care for every American is not a Republican or Democrat issue — it is an American issue," he said.

He said he also encourages a respectful debate, but "there is nothing un-American about disagreements. In fact, our great nation was founded on speaking our minds."

Obama seeks legislation that would provide coverage for millions of uninsured people while controlling costs. Critics say proposals in Congress would spend too much and give government too big a role.

Conservative activists and Obama opponents have stepped up their attacks in recent weeks — and may be outmaneuvering a White House known for its organizational abilities.

In campaign mode, Obama is hosting question-and-answer sessions that proved valuable during the presidential race. The Democratic National Committee and Obama's allies are spending millions on advertising campaigns to influence public opinion, much like they did last year. Associates are going out to make the case. The White House is using Internet tools honed during his groundbreaking bid to rally supporters.

It's unclear if it's working.

Obama is trying to energize his estimated 13 million grass-roots supporters through his campaign apparatus, called Organizing for America. But there are indications that those who turned out in to help elect Obama aren't doing the same to get a policy passed — evidence of the difficulty in the transition from campaigning to governing.

Over the past week, White House senior adviser David Axelrod asked supporters to forward a chain e-mail to counter criticism circulating online. The White House also began a "Reality Check" Web site "to help Americans clear up health care lies and misinformation."

DNC Chairman Tim Kaine said "reform opponents" have stepped up their game because they can tell the White House has "made more progress on health insurance reform than we made in the previous 60 years."

Those efforts were reminiscent of the Obama team's attempts during the 2008 campaign to debunk Internet rumors about his faith and upbringing.

The DNC has created a Web video — "What You Won't See on National Cable News" — to highlight civil town hall meetings, and Obama also plans to speak to backers by telephone during a health care event Wednesday.

Over the past week, he's fielded questions from audiences in Portsmouth, N.H., and Belgrade, Mont., and scheduled one in Grand Junction, Colo., during his family's tour of national parks. Thus far, he's faced polite crowds, a stark contrast to the taunts and jeers that Democratic lawmakers have endured at similar sessions during their August break.

Much like in the campaign, he's using people's stories to illustrate his points.

Obama talks about Lori Hitchcock of New Hampshire and Katie Gibson of Montana, who couldn't get sustained coverage because of their medical conditions. "These are the stories that aren't being told," he said in his weekly address.

He's railing again against interest groups and lobbyists. "Every time we come close to passing health insurance reform, the special interests with a stake in the status quo use their influence and political allies to scare and mislead the American people," Obama said.

He's asking his legions of supporters to "come together, and listen to one another" to "rise to this moment" and get the job done.

READ MORE - Campaign tactics back as Obama presses health care

Hamas crushes challenge by al-Qaida-inspired group

By IBRAHIM BARZAK

RAFAH, Gaza Strip – The leader of an al-Qaida-inspired group in the Gaza Strip blew himself up during a shootout Saturday with Hamas security forces, ending hours of violence sparked by a rebellious sermon at a mosque near the Egyptian border.

At least 24 people were killed in clashes with the shadowy group, which posed one of the biggest challenges to Hamas since the militant group seized power in Gaza two years ago.

The fighting broke out Friday when Hamas security men surrounded a mosque in the southern Gaza town of Rafah on the Egyptian border where about 100 members of Jund Ansar Allah, or the Soldiers of the Companions of God, were holed up.

Flares lit up the sky overnight as Hamas machine gun fire and rocket propelled grenades slammed into the mosque. The militants inside returned fire with automatic weapons and grenades of their own.

The head of the radical Islamic group, Abdel-Latif Moussa, detonated an explosives vest he was wearing when fighting resumed after dawn Saturday, said Ihab Ghussein, a Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman.

"The so-called Moussa has committed suicide ... killing a mediator who had been sent to him to persuade him and his followers to hand themselves over to the government," Ghussein said.

He said the fighting ended later in the morning.

Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said a total of 24 people, including six Hamas police officers and an 11-year-old girl, were killed and 150 were wounded.

The group's Web site vowed revenge: "We swear to God to avenge the martyrs' blood and we will turn their women into widows."

Hamas also confirmed the death in the fighting of one of its high-level commanders, Abu Jibril Shimali, whom Israel said orchestrated the capture three years ago of Sgt. Gilad Schalit, an Israeli soldier who is still being held by Hamas.

The fighting appeared to confirm Hamas' iron rule in Gaza despite a punishing Israeli and Egyptian blockade that keeps all but basic humanitarian supplies from entering the impoverished seaside territory.

It also underscored the group's determination not to allow opponents with differing ideologies to gain a foothold in Gaza. The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are together supposed to make up a future Palestinian state, but Hamas' bloody seizure of Gaza in 2007 created rival governments in the two territories — located on opposite sides of Israel — that are complicating Palestinian efforts to gain independence.

Jund Ansar Allah claims inspiration from al-Qaida's ultraconservative brand of Islam but no direct links have been confirmed.

The confrontation was triggered when the leader of the group defied Gaza's Hamas rulers by declaring in a Friday prayer sermon that the territory was an Islamic emirate.

Jund Ansar Allah and a number of other small radical groups seek to enforce an even stricter version of Islamic law in Gaza than that advocated by Hamas.

These groups are also upset that the Hamas regime has honored a cease-fire with Israel for the past seven months.

Hamas says it does not impose its religious views on others, but only seeks to set a pious example for people to follow.

Radical splinter groups such as Jund Ansar Allah call for a global jihad against the entire Western world, while Hamas maintains its struggle is only against the Israeli occupation.

"They are inspired by unbalanced ideologies and in the past they carried out a number of explosions targeting Internet cafes and wedding parties," said Ghussein, adding that the groups do not have any external ties.

The hard-line groups are perhaps the most serious opposition Hamas has faced since it seized control of Gaza and ousted its rivals in the Fatah movement in a five-day civil war in June 2007.

Hamas security blocked all roads to Rafah and declared the town a closed military zone. They said they have arrested about 40 members of the group so far.

Hamas is also investigating the launching of 11 homemade rockets from Gaza into Egypt on Friday. Only five of the rockets detonated, injuring a young girl, said Egyptian security forces.

Saeb Erekat, a senior peace negotiator with Israel and a member of the rival Fatah group in the West Bank, described the situation in Gaza as "alarming."

"Gaza is going down the drain in chaos and lawlessness," he told the AP.

Jund Ansar Allah first came to public attention in June after it claimed responsibility for a failed attempt to attack Israel from Gaza on horseback.

In July, three Muslim extremists from the group holed themselves up in a building in southern Gaza, surrendering to Hamas police only after a lengthy standoff.

It is unclear how many adherents Jund Ansar Allah or other similar extremist groups have in Gaza.

READ MORE - Hamas crushes challenge by al-Qaida-inspired group

Indonesian Police Kill Terror Chief

Antiterrorism police stormed an isolated Indonesian farmhouse in central Java early Saturday, killing one of Southeast Asia's most-wanted terrorists, Noordin Mohamed Top, who is wanted for allegedly masterminding deadly attacks on two hotels in Jakarta last month, a senior antiterrorism official said.

In a separate raid overnight near Jakarta, the capital, police shot dead two alleged terrorists and arrested three others. They uncovered 1,000 pounds of bombs in a house and a car specially modified to carry them, suggesting the attacks on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton, which killed nine people including the suicide bombers, possibly were intended as the start of a new wave of bombings in Indonesia.

The twin raids represented a potentially major blow to the already-embattled network of terrorists in Indonesia, though analysts cautioned against drawing too many conclusions until the names of all the suspects are known and their identities are proven. Although police were still trying to identify some of the individuals they killed or apprehended, they believe the list includes a number of high-level targets in addition to Mr. Noordin. If so, the raids could go a long way towards restoring confidence in Indonesia's ability to maintain law and order despite recent concerns that authorities were growing lax in their fight against extremism.

The arrests could also help boost the image of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who won reelection in July partly because of his successes in reining in terrorism since coming to power in 2004. For Mr. Yudhoyono, a former army general, the hotel attacks were an embarrassment coming so soon after the presidential elections and at a time when Indonesia's international image has been improving. "I extend my highest gratitude and respect to the people for their brilliant achievement in this operation," Mr. Yudhoyono said on Saturday, the Associated Press reported.

The live television coverage of the police offensive captivated Indonesian audiences. Local news channel tvOne showed live pictures of black-clad antiterrorism police carefully entering the farmhouse near Temanggung, a town in central Java, a province on Indonesia's main island, after they had riddled the dwelling with a volley of shots and sent in robots to sweep for bombs.

Earlier, police had set off controlled explosions in the house, shaking the building and sending plumes of smoke into the sky. After the building was secured, television showed police shaking hands and congratulating one another. Police initially said four terrorists were in the house, but Police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri later said a man, who he declined to identify, had faced down police alone during the 16-hour siege.

A senior antiterrorism official said a man believed to be Mr. Noordin, a 40-year-old former accountant, was shot while hiding in the bathroom at the back of the house. Police will only announce the death once the body has been flown back to Jakarta and undergone an official autopsy, the person said.

Earlier on Saturday, a national police spokesman, Nanan Sukarna, said police believed Mr. Noordin was in the house. Mr. Noordin has evaded capture numerous times in the past, including two incidents in which police thought they were closing in on their target before he disappeared.

Mr. Noordin, a Malaysian citizen, is wanted for orchestrating a number of attacks on Western targets in Indonesia, including an earlier attack in 2003 on the JW Marriott, a 2004 attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta and another bombing of Bali beachfront restaurants in 2005.

Since then, Indonesia, a secular Muslim country of 240 million people, has made great strides in combating terrorism, arresting hundreds of alleged militants. But the latest blasts raised fears about Mr. Noordin's continued ability to mount attacks and evade capture by relying on a small but tightly-knit network of Islamic groups and schools in central Java, the heartland of hard-line Islam in Indonesia.

If indeed Mr. Noordin has been killed, it would mark a major success for Indonesia's U.S.-trained antiterrorism police unit called Detachment 88. Last year, the police broke up a terrorist cell linked to Mr. Noordin in the city of Palembang on Sumatra island, but made few new arrests over the following year despite a number of leads thrown up by those detentions. Then, in June, they arrested a man in Cilacap, central Java, called Syaefuddin Zuhri, alias Sabit, who had helped the Palembang group acquire arms and bombs and was believed to be a close associate of Mr. Noordin.

That arrest came too late to stop the Jakarta hotel bombings the following month, which police believe were organized from Cilacap. But the detention gave police information they were able to use to further their subsequent investigations. Soon after the attacks, they raided an Islamic boarding school in the town run by Mr. Noordin's father-in-law and found explosives similar to an undetonated bomb in Room 1808 of the JW Marriott, which the bombers had used as a command center a few days before the blasts. Police also arrested Mr. Noordin's wife in Cilacap.

Authorities then put a $100,000 bounty on Mr. Noordin's head. Earlier on Friday, their search led them to arrest two people in a market in Temanggung in connection with the hotel attacks. It was unclear what evidence drew the police to Temanggung, but questioning of the two arrested men led them to the farmhouse, which is owned by their uncle, an elderly Islamic school teacher. Local media said the younger men were Mr. Noordin's body guards. Other reports said the teacher's son had been arrested in 2003 in connection with the earlier attack on the JW Marriott.

Hundreds of Detachment 88 police arrived at the farmhouse on Friday and began shooting at what they believed to be four terrorists holed up inside at around 5 p.m. local time. The standoff lasted through the night with sporadic automatic gunfire and bomb explosions.

Around dawn on Saturday, a major explosion was heard in the house and later police snipers on a nearby wooded hill intensified their attack on the property, which is surrounded by rice paddies. The tvOne news channel reported that a man inside the building at one point called out "I am Noordin M. Top." After the siege ended, ambulances arrived and men carried coffins in to the ruined house, television pictures showed. It appeared that no police officers had been killed in the incident.

Information from the earlier arrests in Temanggung led police not only to the farmhouse but also overnight to raid the house near Jakarta, in the satellite town of Bekasi. Police opened fire on a car that returned to the house before dawn, killing two people and leading to the arrest of three others. Local media reported that the men tried to hold out, throwing pipe bombs at the police. The car, which had fake plates, had been driven from central Java, police said.

Police confirmed the target of the bomb was Mr. Yudhoyono's private residence, which is about three miles from the house. The terrorists planned to hit the residence two weeks from now, a police spokesman said. A spokesman for the president said he had only heard police reports that the bomb was meant for a "specific" target and couldn't comment further.

The dwelling near Jakarta was used as a safe-house by Mr. Noordin and his associates two days after the hotel bombings last month, police said. One of the men arrested at the house near Jakarta had reserved a room in the JW Marriott which the terrorists used as their command center.

One of the men killed in the raid near Jakarta was Aher Setyawan, a terrorist involved in a 2004 truck bomb attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta, which killed nine people including the suicide bomber, police said. He was arrested in July 2004 before the embassy bombing but was released two months later, just after the attack, due to lack of evidence and didn't go to trial, according to Sidney Jones, an expert on Islamist groups in Indonesia with the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based conflict-resolution body.

The question now - if Mr. Noordin is officially confirmed to have been killed – is whether the remnants of his network will be able to reassemble to carry out future attacks.

Mr. Noordin's network is believed to number only around 30 people, making the latest crackdown a devastating blow. But members of the network have been able to get shelter from a small but dedicated number of radicals who want Indonesia to implement Shariah Islamic law. Although those people don't necessarily support terrorism, they have been unwilling to turn Mr. Noordin in to police, experts say, and that kind of support could allow militants to regroup, even if they are weakened.

"Those individuals would never call up the police. There's a level of protection," said Noor Huda Ismail, executive director of the International Institute for Peacebuilding, a Jakarta-based non-governmental group that studies militant Islam.

A number of key Islamic terrorists remain at large including a man called Zulkarnaen, who is believed to be in Indonesia, the senior antiterrorism official said. Two other operatives known as Umar Patek and Dulmatin are suspected to be in the southern Philippines. They are believed to be hard-core militants with sophisticated bomb-making ability.

Ms. Jones of the International Crisis Group says police will need to remain vigilant. Only a small number of people are needed to mount a terrorist attack and Mr. Noordin's group has been able to effectively radicalize people to carry out acts of jihad despite intense police pressure, Ms. Jones says.

Mr. Noordin was able to carry out the latest attacks despite the killing in 2005 of a key member of his network, master bomb maker Azahari bin Husin, who was shot dead by police in a raid on a house similar to the one on Saturday. Mr. Noordin slipped away then, as he did the following year when another two militants were killed in a police raid on a house in Wonosobo, a central Java town not far from Temanggung.

Police should intensify their monitoring of about 50 militant Islamic schools that have given shelter to Mr. Noordin's group in the past and acted as meeting points for hard-line Islamic groups, Ms. Jones says.

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