Relatives of slain Islamic militant and master bombmaker Azahari Husin have asked Indonesian authorities to allow them to take his remains back to his native Malaysia, an official said Tuesday.

"We have received, yesterday afternoon, a diplomatic note from the Malaysian embassy informing us of a request of the family of Azahari to be allowed to take the body to Malaysia," foreign ministry spokesman Yuri Thamrin told AFP .

The demand made Monday was forwarded to Indonesian police, who are holding Azahari's remains, he said.

Azahari, one of Asia's most wanted men and a member of the Al-Qaeda linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) extremist network, was killed during a shootout with police last week after they tracked him to a bomb-filled hideaway in East Java.

Police found some 30 wired bombs in the house as well as documents related to the group's activities and plans for future attacks.

Azahari's younger brother Bani Yamin Husin and another relative have been in Indonesia since Sunday, in a bid to take his remains back to Malaysia, but Indonesian police say the body is evidence in an ongoing investigation.

Key figures

A massive hunt continues for Azahari's associate Noordin Muhammad Top, with police in Java trying to restrict his movements and those of his followers with roadblocks and identity checks across Indonesia's main island.

Azahari and Noordin are among the key figures blamed by authorities for bombings on the resort island of Bali which killed 202 people in 2002 and for repeat bombings on the resort island last month that killed 20 people.

Authorities have also linked them to other attacks that began with coordinated bombings of churches in Indonesia on Christmas Eve 2000.

The two are linked to the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) extremist group which has some ties to the Al-Qaeda network.

However, JI expert Sidney Jones warned recently that Azahari and Noordin appeared to have been splitting from JI to form an even more hardline force of their own.