Fleeing the Malaysian government's crackdown under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in early 2000, he and his Malaysian partner Dr. Azahari, who was later killed in a police raid in Batu, Malang, 2005, crossed the Malacca Straits to Sumatra, to open a new chapter in anti-American terrorism in the country.

The deadly team of Noordin and mentor Azahari, a bomb expert, began with the explosion of a car bomb in front of the Philippine Embassy in August 2000.

This was followed by bomb explosions at several churches in Jakarta and Sumatra in the same year.

The two launched terror attacks in several areas and avoided police arrests while recruiting local students, which rapidly increased their numbers, as demonstrated by the recent bomb blasts in Jakarta.

A master of disguise, Noordin reportedly married several Indonesian women, with the last being in Pandeglang, Serang, one of his group's operational regions.

Noordin, a Malaysian Technology University graduate, was also a former student of the late Abdullah Sungkar and of Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, both believed to be cofounders of the terror organization Jamaah
Islamiyah.

Noordin was listed as the principal of the Islamic boarding school Luqmanul Hakiem in Johor Baru, Malaysia, which was founded by Sungkar and Ba’asyir.

While Azahari focused on his bomb-making skills, Noordin spent his time spreading radical Islamic values.

He reportedly used his strong communication skills to persuade locals to become his disciples and raised local and foreign finance for terrorist activities.

Noordin and Azahari were added to the police's most-wanted list due to their direct participation in designing and preparing the 2002 Bali bombs that killed more than 200 people, mostly Australians.
Noordin escaped at least three police raids between 2003 and 2006.

Many field operatives who wished for anonymity acknowledged that Noordin was passionate about his vision.

Mardigu WP, a psychologist who was often hired by the police to de-radicalize arrested terrorists, said Noordin was a meticulous man that paid serious attention to every detail of each operation.

“There are hundreds of families who would help him even though these families did not agree with his ideas.

“Thus the combination of being meticulous and charismatic is what actually saved Noordin so many times,” Mardigu once said.

In Australia, a spokesman for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the government was still “awaiting confirmation from the Indonesian government” on Noordin's death. Australians were a major target in the 2002 bombing of Bali nightclubs.

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