Asia's terror kingpin dead

ASIA'S most wanted terrorist Noordin Mohammed Top is believed dead, according to Indonesian police sources.

Police sources believe the alleged mastermind of last month's attacks on two Jakarta hotels has been killed during a police raid on two houses today.

Australian authorities are in close contact with Jakarta over reports of Noordin Noordin's death.

Police said two people were killed and five arrested during the raids. The raids also netted explosives and a massive car bomb which police believe was due to be exploded at a new target within weeks.

Police chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri said two suspected militants holding bombs were killed, while three were arrested.

He said officers seized explosives and a car bomb that was intended for ``a specific target'' but gave no more details.

He said suspected booby traps remained in the house.

According to witnesses, several explosions rocked a Noordin's suspected hideout after a 12-hour siege by police.

An AFP reporter at the scene said he saw smoke billowing out of holes in the roof of the modest house in rural Central Java, and heard at least four explosions as police appeared to move in on the property.

In other reports, police are believed to have identified the two suicide bombers involved in last month's Jakarta bombings.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was aware of the reports but noted Noordin's death was unconfirmed.

``We are in close touch with Indonesian authorities,'' a spokesman said.

The federal government regards him as ``one of the most dangerous terrorists in the region".

``His outrages have cost countless innocent people their lives, including many Australians," the spokesman said.

Noordin, who has been on the run for years, is suspected of involvement in all of Indonesia's major terror attacks since 2002, including the first Bali bombings that claimed 202 lives, including 88 Australians.

He is wanted over the suicide bombings on the JW Marriott in Jakarta in 2003, the Australian embassy in 2004 and the second Bali bombing in 2005.

The government welcomed the efforts Indonesia was making to capture those behind the most recent Jakarta attacks.

``We stand shoulder to shoulder with the government and people of Indonesia to reject the appalling violence of extremists,'' the DFAT spokesman said.

The developments appeared to be the first major break in the investigations into the attacks, which killed nine people and broke a four-year gap in terror strikes in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Noordin is a Malaysian citizen who claimed in a video in 2005 to be al-Qaeda's representative in Southeast Asia and to be carrying out attacks on Western civilians to avenge Muslim deaths in Afghanistan.

Noordin was a member of the Jemaah Islamiah regional terror movement responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings which killed more than 200 people, including 88 Australians, but split around 2003 to form his own militant group, analysts said.

Noordin and his followers accuse the United States and its allies of oppressing Muslims around the world and justify their attacks in terms of global jihad, or holy war, to protect Islam.

Police have come close to arresting Noordin several times in the past and have captured or killed some of his closest associates during the six-year manhunt...