The death of Indonesia's most wanted terrorist Azahari has energized the country's war on terrorism after weeks of unsuccessful probe into the latest bomb attacks on Bali island.

Azahari, suspected mastermind of three major bombings that killed 225 people in Indonesia since October 2002, was killed after a fierce gunfight with security officers at a rented house in the East Java town of Malang on Wednesday.

National Police Chief Sutanto said after touring the scene Thursday the body of Azahari remains intact and identifiable and his fingerprints matched with the data supplied by the Malaysian police.

The raid is the country's largest counter-terrorism operation involving more than 100 officers from the anti-terror unit, the bomb squad, the provincial police headquarters and the district police.

Malaysia-born Azahari and another militant identified only as Arman fought back by throwing bombs before a huge blast inside the house ended their resistance. They allegedly blew themselves up to avoid capture.

A policeman wounded in his legs after the gunfight.

Following the gunfight, officers seized dozens of bomb devices loaded into backpacks which indicated that the group has plotted future attacks.

Dubbed as "demolition man" by Malaysian and Indonesian newspapers, Azahari was a key member of Jemaah Islamiyah which was allegedly a shadowy terror group with links to al Qaeda that aims to establish a pan-Islamic nation in Southeast Asia.

Azahari and compatriot Noordin Moh Top have been put on the police's most wanted terrorists since the October 2002 nightclub bombings in Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreign holidaymakers.

They have since carried out bombings at the Marriot Hotel and the Australian Embassy compound here and successfully escaped several police raids in separate towns.

Sutanto said the police have earlier identified two severed heads of militants who carried out suicide bombings in Bali on Oct. 1 and begun to learn how they were recruited.

The clue led to the hideout of Azahari at the Batu resort village in Malang. Apart from the operation, authorities also arrested five other militants believed to be Azahari's operatives in the Central Java capital of Semarang. However, Noordin managed to escape.

Local daily Media Indonesia reported Thursday officers have tracked down Noordin in Semarang and almost arrested him when he was meeting another militant identified by initials HF.

Noordin escaped capture after taking a motorist as hostage and fled on a motorcycle with the hostage.

But officers held HF who later confirmed that Azahari was among those hiding at the Batu resort village. The tip-off triggered the Wednesday's raid without further delay.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has congratulated the police for putting an end to Azahari's brutal acts but warned that a lot more to be done to crack down on terrorism.

"The president congratulated the police and ordered the arrest of Noordin Moh Top. The president also instructed the police to continue efforts to crack down on terrorism," said presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng.

Separately, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the death of Azahari "will diminish the strength of the terror group" but the danger remains potent and the country must stay vigilant.

The police, which have been tightlipped about any progress it has made in the probe into last month's Bali restaurant bombings, now begin to make public statements.

Two of the three suicide bombers in Bali were identified as Salik Firdauz, a resident of the West Java town of Majalengka, and Misno from Cilacap, Central Java.

With several more militants caught alive prior to the Wednesday 's operation, the police will probably make more arrests to crack down on the militant network here and to leave little space for Noordin to flee.

But what more important for Indonesia, where a major bombing occurs nearly once a year, is that the successful counter- terrorism measures can prevent future attacks.

Source: Xinhua