Indonesia holds 12 suspected terrorists linked to book bomb attacks

Indonesia holds 12 suspected terrorists linked to book bomb attacks

2011-04-25 20:34:04 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- Indonesian police on Monday said twelve terrorist suspects linked to the book bomb package are being held under custody.

Jakarta Metropolitan Police Headquarters chief spokesman Senior Commissioner Baharudin Djafar told Antara news agency that the twelve suspects were part of the 20 who were previously arrested by the anti-terrorism squad.

In recent weeks, Indonesian police have launched a strong operation against the terrorists behind the parcel bombings. Last week, authorities announced the arrest of several suspects after police removed an explosive from a pipeline in a bomb attempt against a Catholic Church in Tangerang, a city in the outskirts of Jakarta.

Suspects have been arrested in different areas, including in Pondok Kopi, East Jakarta, Bekasi, West Java, Gunung Sindur in Bogor, West Java and in Aceh, which is located in the northern region of Sumatra, where Indonesian Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has allegedly led a terrorist paramilitary training facility.

On March 15, a bomb parcel exploded in Utan Kayu, East Jakarta. The explosive device was sent to the local KBR 68H Radio News Agency and was addressed to the agency's chief Gories Mere. A policeman lost his hand while trying to defuse it.

Another explosive package was located at the National Narcotics Agency office in Jakarta. A police bomb squad managed to deactivate it before it exploded. A third one was sent to Ulil Abshar Abdalla, chairman of the Liberal Islam Network, in Utan Kayu. The device exploded while policemen were trying to defuse it; three police officers were severely injured.

An explosive device hidden in a hollowed out book was the fourth explosive, which was sent to the residence of music mogul Ahmad Dhani in Pondok Indah, south Jakarta. All four bombs were concealed in the same way.

A series of similar incidents were reported in the following weeks, including parcel bomb attempts against Muhammadiyah University Rector Masyitoh Chusnan and near the Center for Science and Technology Research in Tangerang. An explosion at a market in East Java killed a 16-year-old boy and critically injured another.

Since the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australian tourists, the country has been constantly fighting terrorist cells.

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