INDONESIA: Gunmen on motorcycles attack police station, killing three officers, in an apparent revenge attack

Record ID: 352413

  • Title: INDONESIA: Gunmen on motorcycles attack police station, killing three officers, in an apparent revenge attack
  • Date: 23rd September 2010
  • Summary: DELI SERDANG, NORTH SUMATRA PROVINCE, INDONESIA (SEPTEMBER 22, 2010) (REUTERS) (NIGHTSHOTS) SIGN OF HAMPARAN PERAK, DELI SERDANG DISTRICT GUARD POST AT POLICE OFFICE DAMAGE FROM ATTACK POLICE IN PLAIN CLOTH ON GUARD RESIDENTS NEAR POLICE OFFICE GATHER RESIDENTS LOOKING AT DAMAGE POLICE OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) A WITNESS SUWARDI, SAYING: "I heard there
  • Embargoed: 8th October 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Indonesia
  • Country: Indonesia
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVA5RLPKKA7JGT5F7GPXDW8TLVH1
  • Story Text: Over a dozen gunmen on motorcycles attacked a police station in western Indonesia on Wednesday (September 22), killing three officers, in an apparent revenge attack after police raided a nearby Islamic militant group this week.
    A police spokesman said the men were believed to have links to a militant group that ran a training camp in Aceh in northern Sumatra island and that had planned to stage a coup against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
    The police station was two kilometres (one mile) away from where police captured and killed three members of the group this past weekend also linked to armed bank robberies in the region that were aimed at fund raising for attacks.
    "I heard there were shots from inside, more than 10 times," said a witness Suwardi who live near the police station.
    The gunmen attacked the police station at just pass midnight local time and killed police officers who were on a night shift.
    "Those gunmen observed the location before getting into this police office. They entered the station, shot a police officer at the front door, they walked inside and killed another officer who was standing not far from a prisoner's room. They were armed with rifles, FN's. We are very sad, three officers were killed in the attack," said North Sumatra Police Chief, Oegroseno while visiting the police station.
    Indonesia police said the gunmen are from the same group that robbed the CIMB bank, which is linked with the group that had trained in Aceh. Those people wanted to convey a message about their existence, said Indonesia police spokesman.
    Police have said militants may be switching tactics from bombing Westerners -- such as in nightclubs in Bali in 2002 and luxury hotels in Jakarta last year -- to armed attacks on state targets and institutions such as the president and the police.
    Indonesia's poor gun control and corruption are allowing extremist networks access to arms that may be used in sniper-style killings or bank robberies to help fund militancy, an international think tank said this month.
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