- Title: Indonesian police kill 3 militant suspects in gunfight, find bombs
- Date: 21st December 2016
- Summary: SOUTH TANGERANG, BANTEN PROVINCE, INDONESIA (DECEMBER 21, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CROWDS AND MEDIA IN ROAD TO CRIME SCENE BLOCKED BY FIRE ENGINE MEDIA SURROUNDING INDONESIA POLICE CHIEF, TITO KARNAVIAN (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) INDONESIA POLICE CHIEF, TITO KARNAVIAN SAYING: "For the time being our findings are that the bomb is a low explosive type, we saw from the ingredients, from potassium nitrate." VARIOUS OF MEDIA SURROUNDING KARNAVIAN
- Embargoed: 5th January 2017 15:01
- Keywords: Indonesia militant arrest suicide bomb police
- Location: SOUTH TANGERANG, BANTEN PROVINCE AND ENTIKONG, WEST KALIMANTAN PROVINCE, INDONESIA
- City: SOUTH TANGERANG, BANTEN PROVINCE AND ENTIKONG, WEST KALIMANTAN PROVINCE, INDONESIA
- Country: Indonesia
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA0035DTTFET
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Indonesian anti-terror police killed three suspects in a gunfight on the outskirts of the capital, Jakarta, on Wednesday (December 21) and foiled a suicide bomb plot, a police spokesman said.
The raid is the latest in a series over recent weeks that police say have disrupted bomb plots, raising concerns that homegrown militants in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation are getting bolder in their attempts to launch attacks.
Muhammad Lutfi, a 34 year-old resident of Tangerang who lives near the crime scene was concerned about his family safety after he heard the gunshots and saw the police.
"I was really scared and worried. I also worry that many terrorists are still roaming around the neighborhood," he said.
Police said earlier this week that at least 14 people were being interrogated over suicide bomb plots targeting the presidential palace in Jakarta and an undisclosed location outside Java Island. Both involved a female suicide bomber - a new tactic for Indonesian militants.
After Wednesday's raid, police said the suspects, who authorities believe are supporters of the Islamic State militant group, had planned to stab officers at a traffic post, and then detonate a "large, homemade" bomb as crowds gathered.
President Joko Widodo commended security forces for preventing attacks and called on the public to be vigilant against the spread of radicalism.
"We hope the public can also help fortify this country against terrorism and radicalism that one can see in other countries," Widodo said during his working trip to west Kalimantan.
Police said a total of five bombs were found at the house in South Tangerang and the attack was planned for the end of the year.
Tito Karnavian, Indonesia police chief said during his visit to the crime scene that they could tell it was a low explosive bomb.
Indonesia has suffered several major militant attacks over the years, the worst of which was the 2002 bombing on the holiday island of Bali that killed 202 people, many of them foreigners.
That attack led to Western help and funding for Indonesia to develop an elite counter-terrorism unit, which has been effective in stamping out militant cells.
Authorities however now worry about resurgence in radicalism, inspired in part by Islamic State.
A gun and bomb assault in the heart of Jakarta in January killed four people and was the first attack in Southeast Asia claimed by Islamic State.
Police have arrested dozens of suspected militants in recent months, including a cell in Indonesia's Batam Island that planned a rocket attack on neighboring Singapore.
Many suspects from the most recent arrests were found with military-grade explosives and police say they had been communicating with and receiving money from Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian militant known to be fighting with Islamic State in Syria. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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