Indonesian police (Illustrative image - Source: AFP) Jakarta (VNA) - The Indonesian police’s anti-terror squad has arrested 31 alleged militants in the wake of suicide attacks on three churches and at least two police headquarters in the country in recent days.
Police Chief of East Java province Inspector General Machfud Arifin said the police arrested 23 alleged militants in East Java province and eight others in Riau province on Sumatra island.
He added four alleged terrorists were shot dead during the arrest.
According to National Police Chief General Tito Karnavian, the perpetrators of the assault on Riau province’s police headquarters on May 16 and the suicide bombers in East Java province were members of the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), which is loyal to the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS).
He said the police monitored the movement of this group since three to four years ago.
During the arrests, the police seized weapons and a flag of IS.
The IS conceded that it involved in a series of attacks in three churches on May 13 in Surabaya city, the provincial capital of East Java and a suicide bombing in the police headquarters in the city on May 14, and a sword-wielding assault in the police headquarters in Riau province on May 16.
The attacks totally killed 32 people and injured dozens of others. Of the attacks, two were conducted by family members including women and children.-VNA
VNA
