Reports are coming through that the police have captured or killed a number of Islamic terrorists in central Java, while the main man, Noordin Mohamad Top, slipped away.

Originally it was reported that one among those captured/killed was Noordin Mohamad Top, the Malaysian leader of the main Islamic terrorist group in Indonesia, but later reports suggest that he removed himself from the place shortly before police arrived.

The police anti-terror squad, Detachment 88, surrounded a house in Wonosobo, central Java, specifically the village of Binangun in the Kalianget district.

A number of men, one of them originally thought to be Noordin M. Top, were said to be in the house, and a shootout ensued in which two of the men were killed. Another man gave himself up.

The slain men are Abdul Hadi alias Bambang, and Jabir, men said to be expert in the making of bombs. The man who surrendered himself is one Solahuddin.

Residents of the village say that shooting began at 6.15 am and went on for twenty minutes.

Noordin Mohammad Top has long been the most wanted terrorist in Indonesia and is the man believed co-responsible for a string of bombings since 2000 including the attacks in Kuta, Bali, and the attacks on the Australian embassy and the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta.