Indonesia's antiterror force arrest five alleged Jemaah Islamiyah members
The five have been picked up in Central Sulawesi province.
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s counterterrorism force have arrested five suspected members of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network in Central Sulawesi province, it has been reported.
Head of the Public Information Bureau of the Public Relations Division of the Indonesian National Police (Polri), Brigadier General Ahmad Ramadhan, on Friday (Mar 17, 2023), said the five suspects were arrested on Thursday (Mar 16, 2023), news reports in Bahasa Indonesia said.
“They are AF (aged 41), KB (52), MA (42), ZA (42) and RAM (46),” he was quoted as saying in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta.
On Thursday, Polri’s antiterror force Densus 88 conducted searches in Tinggede Village and Marawola District in Sigi District as well as Silae Village and Ulujadi District in Palu City.
During the searches in Palu City, Densus 88 arrested two people and confiscated eight reading books of various titles, five notebooks, two bundles of charity foundation documents, a bundle of receipts, three telescopes, a number of sharp weapons and an air rifle.
The Head of the Central Sulawesi Regional Police's Community Information Subdivision, Sugeng Lestari, appealed to the local community to remain calm after the arrests of the five suspected terrorists in Palu City and Sigi Regency.
"The community is urged to remain calm and carry out activities as usual. The arrest of the five suspected terrorists indicates that there are still unscrupulous members of the public who do not want development in Central Sulawesi Province to run smoothly, safely and conducively," Sugeng reportedly said in Palu.
Jemaah Islamiyah or JI as the group is widely known was reported to be linked to al-Qaeda at the heights of its existence in the early 2000s.
JI was tagged in several attacks and bombings including the infamous 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people.