Seven militants were killed during a fierce gunbattle with Indonesian police in East Java province today and local media said they might include one of Southeast Asia's most wanted Islamic radicals.
Metro TV and other stations said Malaysian Azahari bin Husin had been killed in the shoot-out at a villa in the town of Batu.
A police handout photo shows Malaysian Azahari bin Husin who is believed to be dead
SCTV station said Azahari might have blown himself up. Officials said they could not confirm the reports, although the president's spokesman said Azahari was believed to have used the villa as a hideout.
National police spokesman Aryanto Budihardjo said the militants shot at anti-terrorism police and hurled 11 explosive devices at them after they surrounded the villa.
Other officials have said the militants threw grenades. Mr Budihardjo said police had yet to search the entire villa because it was booby-trapped with bombs.
One policeman had been wounded by gunfire, he said. Batu police chief Sudijono said he had seen the bodies of seven militants he described as "terrorists", although they had not been identified.
"We have seen seven bodies," Mr Sudijono said. Dino Patti Djalal, a spokesman for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said it was not clear if Azahari had been killed.
"It was believed Azahari was hiding in this house, but there is no confirmation at the moment that Azahari was there," Mr Djalal said