Arrests, Rally Mark Day After Terror Attack in Indonesia

Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata and Arie Firdaus
2016.01.15
160115-ID-follow-620 Women hold placards outside a damaged Starbucks coffee shop in Jakarta during a vigil for victims of a terrorist attack, Jan. 15, 2016.
AFP

Indonesians rallied in Jakarta Friday to reject extremist violence as police launched a nationwide hunt for suspects in a suicide attack in the city the day before.

“We love peace and condemn terrorism. In fact, we are ready to be at the forefront to fight terrorists,” Ferdi Irwandi, secretary general of the Organization of Ahlulbayt for Social Support and Education, an NGO representing Indonesia’s minority Shiite community, told BenarNews as he took part in a vigil with scores of other people.

They gathered near the site of the Starbucks café and Sarinah department store where the attack happened on Thursday, leaving seven dead, including two civilians and five suspected militants. The Islamic State (IS) extremist group claimed it was behind the attack, its first terrorist strike in Indonesia.

A Canadian and an Indonesian were killed in the attack, which injured 24 others.

People from all backgrounds and walks of life took part in Friday’s vigil. Many held up red signs that bore the Twitter hashtag “#WEARENOTAFRAID.”

“We are sad that there were victims, but we must not be afraid because, if we are afraid, it means the terror was successful,” Indonesia Solidarity party Chairperson Isyana Bagoes Oka told BenarNews.

On Friday afternoon, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo visited the site of the attack in a central Jakarta business district, not far from the Presidential Palace.

“The most important thing, thank God, is that yesterday, in a very short time – three to four hours – the situation was brought under control,” the Associated Press quoted the president as saying.

Arrests

Meanwhile, police announced the arrests of 11 people in post-attack operations mounted in Central and West Java Thursday night and Friday.

According to police, nine of the 11 in custody are suspected militants, but officials did not give information about the remaining two suspects.

Three of the 11 suspects were connected to the suicide attacks, which combined bombings and shootings, police said.

According to Inspector General Anton Charliyan, the National Police spokesman, these three suspects were associated with Bahrun Naim, an alleged IS leader based in Syria who is suspected of masterminding the attack in the Indonesian capital.

“It’s clear that the [Jakarta attackers] didn’t set this up themselves. For this, we are searching for the networks and who was involved in this action,” Reuters quoted Anton as saying.

According to National Police chief Badrodin Haiti, Thursday’s plot likely involved a broader terrorist network.

“The planners, financiers, and supporters that provide (explosive) materials, assemble the bombs, facilitate accommodations and vehicles, etc. ... of course this is the work of a team that could be big or small,” he said, according to Reuters.

“This obviously was not conducted by five men, this takes teamwork.”

All of the activities involving the group that carried out the attack were funded by IS through Bahrun Naim, AP quoted Badrodin as saying Friday.

Bahrun is a leader of Katibah Nusantara, an IS unit based in Syria that is exclusively made up of Malay-speaking fighters from Southeast Asia.

According to Ansyaad Mbai, the former chief of Indonesia’s National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), Indonesian authorities foiled 15 planned terrorist plots, including by arresting at least nine suspects in December who were taking part in an IS-linked plot to carry out a “concert” of attacks in Indonesia during the Christmas and New Year’s season.

“Luckily, police did a good job to disrupt the plan,” Ansyaad told BenarNews.

“But still, yesterday’s incident should be a wake-up call for us.”

Suspect killed

Elsewhere on Friday, Indonesian police said they killed a suspected militant in Central Sulawesi province who was believed to be a supporter of IS but he was not part of the Jakarta attack.

The province on Sulawesi island is a stronghold for Indonesia’s most wanted militant, Santoso. His Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT) group has pledged its allegiance to IS.

On Jan. 9, Indonesian security forces ended their latest yearly operation to hunt down Santoso.

He evaded capture, but the forces caught seven alleged MIT members and killed seven other suspects in shootouts, bringing the number of people left in Santoso’s band down to 32 members, police in Central Sulawesi told BenarNews last week.

Keisyah Aprilia contributed to this report.

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