Indonesian police said on Friday they came within two hours of apprehending one of two Malaysians who are among the most wanted terrorists in south-east Asia and considered the prime suspects in the suicide bombings in Bali.

A senior police official told the Financial Times that investigators had raided the central Java village of Purwantoro around 3am on Friday after receiving a tip that Noordin M. Top, a key member of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, was hiding out there.