CANBERRA - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Wednesday praised Indonesia's efforts to dismantle terror networks, congratulating the country on "excellent work in the last 24 hours". Indonesian counter-terrorism forces on Tuesday killed a man believed to have been one of the masterminds of the 2002 Bali bombings during a raid in the capital Jakarta, police and reports said.

"I congratulate Indonesia on excellent work in the last 24 hours," Rudd said, without confirming the death of the Al-Qaeda-trained bomb-making specialist Dulmatin.

In a joint press conference with Rudd in Canberra, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the near neighbours had agreed to enhance their cooperation "on the fight against terrorism".

His visit comes as security forces in Indonesia killed three people in two raids on the outskirts of Jakarta.

Authorities did not disclose the identity of the three, but a police source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP one was believed to be Dulmatin, a leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant group.

"This has been a very professional operation by the Indonesian security forces and it comes on top of other successful operations in recent times," Rudd said.

"The breakthroughs which Indonesia has made in undermining various terrorist networks have been significant."

Australian authorities have worked closely with Yudhoyono on terror issues since the 2002 Bali bombings when the Indonesian leader was the country's security minister.