Indonesian cops nab terror suspects in several locations
JAKARTA: Counter-terrorism squad Densus 88, with the assistance of the local police, have arrested a number of terror suspects in several locations in North Sumatra, including the provincial capital of Medan.
North Sumatra police chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw confirmed the arrests, including one in Tanjung Balai city on Tuesday, where security personnel shot one suspect dead and injured another for resisting arrest.
Densus 88 arrested at least two other suspects in Medan, a 28-year-old driver identified only as MYR, and a 38-year-old milk seller identified as SL, on the same day. A suspect identified as W reportedly fled during an attempted arrest.
All the suspects have been taken to the North Sumatra Police Mobile Brigade headquarters and put under heavy guard.
The police did not immediately publish the number and names of those arrested.
"We are still investigating it," police spokesman Tatan Dirsan Atmaja said.
Since the suicide bomb attacks on three churches in East Java's Surabaya, police have arrested a number of terror suspects across the country, including 13 in East Java, two in South Sumatra's Palembang, one in Riau's Pekanbaru and three in Banten's Tangerang.
The police have also shot dead several others, including four in Pekanbaru.
The authorities at Supadio International Airport in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, have beefed up security, announcing the highest alert status, in response to the terror attacks in Surabaya, on Sunday and Monday and Pekanbaru on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, airport general manager Bayuh Iswantoro said security had been increased since Monday.
He said: "The... status is on indefinitely."
Churches in Pontianak also increased security. At St Hieronymus Catholic Church in East Pontianak, congregation members, the police and military have increased patrols. - JAKARTA POST/ANN
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