Investigations into last month’s Surabaya suicide bombings have led to the arrest of 110 suspects, as Indonesian police move to unravel the terrorist network behind the attacks.
“All 110 suspects are linked to each other,” national police chief Tito Karnavian told reporters on Friday (June 15) at the Bogor presidential palace, after attending the Eid al-Firtri open house by President Joko Widodo.
He declined to reveal details regarding the connections between the suspects and the perpetrators of the triple-church bombings and the attack at the Surabaya police headquarters on May 13 and 14, as operations are still ongoing.
“It is also the peak of our security operations, and ensuring security is our religious duty,” said General Tito.
Most of the suspects were nabbed in East Java, including the five men arrested on June 13 with a plan to attack local police stations and banks. Some were also picked up in Central Java.
Among evidence seized during the arrests were a firearm with bullets, as well as books on jihad and other radical doctrine, said General Tito.
Indonesian police will remain on high alert during the Eid al-Fitri holidays and in the weeks ahead with regional polls, including one to elect the governor of East Java, set to take place on June 27.
Source: Straits Times
Photo courtesy of AFP