3 terrorist suspects arrested in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Aug. 17– Indonesia’s counterterrorism squad, known as Densus 88, has arrested three people on suspicion of terrorism activities in two separate operations. Ahmad Ramadhan, spokesman of the Indonesian National Police, told local media on Tuesday evening that two suspects were arrested in the country’s capital Jakarta, and the two had alleged ties with…

JAKARTA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) — Indonesia’s counterterrorism squad, known as Densus 88, has arrested three people on suspicion of terrorism activities in two separate operations.

Ahmad Ramadhan, spokesman of the Indonesian National Police, told local media on Tuesday evening that two suspects were arrested in the country’s capital Jakarta, and the two had alleged ties with the homegrown extremist group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), which is linked to the Islamic State.

“Meanwhile, another terrorist suspect was arrested in South Sumatra province. He is an alleged supporter of Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD),” Ramadhan said, adding that officers were still investigating the case.

The JAD is responsible for a string of attacks in the archipelago, including a suicide bombing at a cathedral in Makassar City on Sulawesi Island in March last year and several suicide bombings at churches in East Java in 2018, which killed a dozen people. The group was declared an illegal organization in 2018.

Meanwhile, the JI was behind the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed more than 200 people on the holiday island. Enditem