Indonesian police arrest 8 terror suspects in Central Java

Indonesian police arrest 8 terror suspects in Central Java

2011-01-26 09:55:52 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- Indonesian anti-terror police arrested 8 suspected terrorists believed to be behind the bombing plots of two police stations and three churches in the Central Java city of Solo, officials said Tuesday.

Officials said Antok, 28, the alleged ringleader of the group, was arrested in Purwosari, Sukoharjo. The other 7 individuals, all under the age of 20, were taken into custody in Klaten, the Jakarta Globe reported.

Authorities also suspect the group was responsible for small explosions that detonated in Solo's Kliwon market and a church last December, as well as an unexploded bomb in a Yogyakarta mosque two days before last Christmas day.

Even though the group was in its early stages of development and has not been linked to Jemaah Islamiyah, a regional terror network, authorities expressed special concern regarding the young ages of its members. Furthermore, during the arrests, several items that could potentially be used to assemble fatal bombs were seized, including black powder, potassium chlorate, and homemade detonators.

According to reports, Antok was linked to Sogir, a known bomb maker who had trained under explosives master Azahari Husin, responsible for assembling the bombs that killed 202 people in the 2002 Bali attacks. Azahari was shot and killed during a police raid on his hideout in Batu, East Java, in November 2005, and Sogir was arrested in Klaten last July.

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