Deputy Premier Najib Tun Razak said today that the death of Dr Azahari Husin, who was alleged to have masterminded a series of bombing incidents in Indonesia, shows that the Indonesian authorities' efforts in tackling terrorism have been successful.

"If the man who was killed was actually Azahari, then it shows that what is being done by the Indonesian leadership to eliminate the terrorist threat has been a success.

"However, we have to wait for the DNA analysis to confirm the identity of the dead man beforehand," he told Bernama when asked to comment on media reports that a Malaysian, Dr Azahari who is very high on the wanted list, was killed in his hideout in Kota Batu, Malang, East Java during a police raid yesterday afternoon.

Najib had earlier attended a Hari Raya Aidilfitri gathering with the people in Pasir Mas, Kelantan today.

Media reports which quoted a broadcast by an Indonesian television station stated that Azahari was killed together with six others, who were also believed to be terrorists, during a shootout with police.

Responding to another question, Najib said the incident could be described as a success in the war against terrorists but acts of terrorism did not depend on a particular individual alone.

"What is important is that all of us must continue to be wary and cooperate to check terrorism, not only Malaysia, but the whole region must be free from the threat of terrorism," he said.

JI key members

Azahari, 48, was believed to be a key member of Jemaah Islamiah (JI) which is linked to the Al-Qaeda network.

Azahari, together with another Malaysian, Noordin Mohamed Top, were believed to be directly involved in four terrorist attacks in Indonesia including the bombing in Bali in 2002 which killed 202 people.

He was also believed to be involved in three suicide bombings in Bali last month which killed 20 people.

Azahari was believed to have joined the JI in the late 1990s and was sent for training at an Al-Qaeda camp in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The expert in explosives obtained his engineering degree in Australia before pursuing his doctorate in Britain and had been moving around in Malaysia and Thailand before moving to Indonesia to evade arrest several years ago.