Southeast Asia's next tack on terror

After killing one of Southeast Asia's most wanted terrorists last week, Indonesian security officials face a daunting task in catching remaining militants who have grown more independent or moved to the Philippines to regroup, recruit, and share skills.

Azahari Husin, who was killed Wednesday in a gunbattle, had been accused of involvement in most major bomb attacks in Indonesia in recent years, including the 2002 Bali blast that left 202 people dead. Indonesia's president said police found bombs and plans for more attacks in the home where they cornered Azahari.

But the same day, another senior member of the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terrorist network, Noordin Mohammad Top, escaped authorities elsewhere on Java. And Philippine security officials, meanwhile, say they detect the hand of two other top Indonesian militants in recent terrorist strikes on Manila and the conflict-torn island of Mindanao.

Moving against the remaining JI leaders will test Indonesia's new antiterror capabilities, including a revived village-level network of informants and newly set up military antiterror units, as well as the ability of regional governments to cooperate as militants find safe havens in spots like Mindanao.

"For an actual terror network that has been actively conducting attacks, [Azahari's death] clearly will have a great impact," says Ansyaad Mbai, Indonesia's antiterror chief. "But we all know that terrorism is a crime based on ideology and politics, and will not stop just because of the death of a certain figure."

Mr. Mbai says intelligence shows that extremists are recruiting and working in small independent groups, each capable of launching attacks. "Each is not tied to a hierarchy," he says. Azahari, for instance, was a leading bombmaker for the group but he is not believed to have held a formal role in JI.

Azahari was located after police followed a series of leads arising from the terrorist attack on Bali last month.

In an effort to harness more such leads, the Indonesian military in the last month has restarted a village-level network of noncommissioned officers and civilian spies that had gone dormant with the fall of dictator Suharto in 1998. The military has also set up a dozen special antiterror desks to coordinate efforts with the police.

After last month's Bali bomb attack, Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the military to "get more involved on the war on terror."

The Indonesian government is also reportedly considering the formation of a regional counter-terrorism task force, something that may be proposed at a meeting of regional police chiefs this week.

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