Family doubts slain terror suspect is Noordin Top

A forensic team carry the coffin of suspected Islamic militant Noordin Mohammad Top. Noordin’s family claims the body is not his. — Reuters pic

JOHOR BARU, Aug 11 – The family of Noordin Mohammad Top in Johor does not believe that the man gunned down by Indonesian police in Temanggung, Central Java, was that of the country's most wanted terrorist.

After looking at photographs distributed by the authorities, Noordin's family members were more confident that the man who was shot was not him.

“According to Noordin's family members, they are confident that the man in the photographs was not Noordin," a man identified as Badarudin Ismail and claiming to speak on behalf of Noordin's family was quoted as saying in the www.detik.com website Monday.

He claimed that Noordin's wife, Rahmah, strongly believed that the man in the photographs, which were distributed, was not her husband.

Until last night, Indonesian police have yet to issue a statement on the DNA tests conducted on the body.

The report in the website also stated that police would compared the DNA of the deceased man with that of Noordin's sons in Johor for purposes of identifying the body.

“If they share the same DNA, Nordin's wife and their three children will go to Indonesia," said Badarudin. – Bernama