41 suspected militants nabbed since Jakarta twin suicide bombings

JAKARTA — Indonesian police announced yesterday that they have arrested 41 suspected militants following last month’s twin suicide bombings in the capital that killed three policemen.

Nine among them have been named as suspects in connection with the May 24 attack targeting police that also wounded six police and five civilians, said national police spokesman Major General Setyo Wasisto.

Five others, including the wives of the suicide bombers, were released because of a lack of evidence.

The remaining detainees included those wanted for other terrorism-related offences, the spokesman said.

Maj Gen Wasisto said the militants were captured in Jakarta, neighbouring provinces of West Java and Banten as well as Central and East Java, Sumatra island and West Nusatenggara.

The latest arrest was made in Banten on Wednesday, four days after police foiled a plot to attack a police station in the town of Bima in West Nusatenggara.

He added that the joint operation by police and the anti-terrorism squad was also aimed at safeguarding next week’s celebration of the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Police have identified the May suicide bombers and the nine suspects as members of Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, a network of Indonesian extremist groups set up in 2015 that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group’s leader, Abu Bakr Baghdadi.

Muslim-majority Indonesia has carried out a sustained crackdown on militants since the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people.

Authorities believe that the IS has thousands of sympathisers in Indonesia. Military chief General Gatot Nurmantyo said last week that there are clandestine IS cells across the sprawling Indonesian archipelago, save for the mainly-Christian Papua province.

Hundreds of Indonesian men, women and children are also thought to have travelled to Syria in recent years, and authorities believe about 400 Indonesians have joined the IS.

Dozens are believed to have returned.

Indonesian lawmakers said on Wednesday that the government is set to approve a law allowing the authorities to jail for up to 15 years citizens coming home after joining militant groups abroad.

The tightening of its security laws is part of a revision that President Joko Widodo has sought to address the threat of terrorism.

Changes will broaden the definition of terrorism and give the police powers to detain suspects without trial for longer.

The police will also be empowered to arrest people for hate speech or for spreading radical content, as well as those taking part in paramilitary training or joining proscribed groups.

Yesterday, senior Philippine, Indonesian and Malaysian security officials gathered in Manila and said they would work closely to halt the flow of militants, weapons, funds and extremist propaganda across their borders. AGENCIES