Ciputat, Indonesia - Indonesian police killed two suspected Islamic militants wanted for July's hotel bombings Friday in a raid on a house near the capital Jakarta, a spokesman said. National police spokesman Nanan Soekarna said police were forced to use lethal force against the two men because they had seven small bombs.
Soekarna said the slain men were suspected to be wanted militants Syaefuddin Jaelani and his brother Muhammad Syahrir.
"The identity of the two will be revealed on Monday after forensic tests have been completed," Soekarno told a news conference.
The brothers had been sought for their alleged role in the July 17 bombings at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels, which killed nine people and injured 53.
The raid followed the arrest of the men's alleged accomplice, the spokesman said.
Witnesses heard an explosion and gunfire as counter-terrorism police besieged the rented lodging in Ciputat, a university town about 30 kilometres south of Jakarta.
Police said Jaelani, also known as Zuhri, recruited one of the two hotel suicide bombers.
The man believed to be the mastermind behind the hotel attacks, Malaysian-born Noordin Mohammed Top, was killed last month in a police raid on a house in the central Java city of Solo.
Police said a laptop computer seized from the house where Noordin and three other suspected militants were killed revealed plans to carry out an attack every month.
Police said they believed Noordin was also responsible for a series of bombings in Indonesia since 2003 while Jaelani was considered a newcomer.
Terrorism experts said Noordin was a key financier and recruiter for Jemaah Islamiyah, a militant group blamed for attacks in Indonesia from 2000 to 2003, including the 2002 Bali bombing, which killed 202 people. They said he later formed his own, more violent organization after disagreements with more moderate militants.
