Key Philippine Military and Insurgency-Related Events: Densus 88 Arrests 12 Terrorist Suspects in Four Cities

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Densus 88 Arrests 12 Terrorist Suspects in Four Cities

Posted to Tempo.co (Mar 17, 2022): Densus 88 Arrests 12 Terrorist Suspects in Four Cities (By Ririe Ranggasari)

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Police's special counterterrorism squad, Densus 88, arrested 12 suspected terrorists. They were arrested in four different cities during a crime and terror prevention operation in the Jakarta, Banten, Bogor, and Batam areas.

Densus 88's head of operational assistance (Kabagbanops), Sr. Comr. Aswin Siregar, said that some of the suspects are allegedly linked to the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) network while the others are supporters of ISIS.

"Four of [the suspects arrested] in Riau Islands are JI. The ones in Banten are also JI. The other are ISIS supporters," Aswin said on Thursday, March 17.

The 12 suspected terrorists were arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday, starting with three ISIS supporters apprehended Jakarta, Bogor and Tangerang.

One of the suspects arrested in Gunung Sindur, Bogor Regency, had posted to social media his plan to pledge himself to ISIS on February 16. He also shared videos of ISIS' acts of violence in his Facebook account.

The other two ISIS supporters, MR (21) and HP (36), were arrested in West Jakarta and Ciputat. Officers said they are supporters of Daulah Islamiyah ISIS who work as video editors and translators at the Annajiyah Media Center group. The group has been distributing digital posters containing jihadi propaganda.

Densus 88 also arrested five suspected JI terrorists in Banten on Tuesday. One of them is a 45-year-old civil servant (PNS) at the Tangerang Agriculture Office.

The four JI supporters in Batam, Riau Island, were arrested on Wednesday, two of whom are members of JI Batam's management. From the suspects in Batam, Densus 88 confiscated evidence including a bow with 11 arrows.