Two more Indonesian terror suspects nabbed in 4th case in a week
The duo have allegedly assembled explosives.
JAKARTA: The Indonesian counterterrorism force has reportedly arrested two more terror suspects in West Jakarta in a fourth terrorism case in just over a week.
The two suspects were arrested Tuesday (Aug. 6), said Densus 88 spokesman Aswin Siregar at a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday (Aug. 7).
“The two people who were arrested had the initials RJ and AM,” he said in news reports.
Aswin said RJ and AM had allegedly uploaded narratives of support and propaganda for the Islamic State (IS) terror group on their respective social media.
"It was then discovered that the persons concerned were waving the IS flag while holding a weapon accompanied by a statement or invitation to support the existence of the Islamic State or ISIS," he was quoted as saying.
After conducting an in-depth investigation, Densus 88 discovered that RJ and AM had assembled explosives which have now been seized by investigators.
However, he emphasised that the two of them were not involved in an active terror network but intended to carry out an attack.
A number of pieces of evidence that were seized by investigators included an airsoft gun, several IS jackets and uniforms, several folding knives, explosive chemicals, a cellphone and several other sharp weapons.
Aswin also revealed that RJ and AM were exposed to radicalism starting from their participation in social media which spread information about the Islamic State, both managed domestically and abroad.
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"We must be increasingly aware that the process of radicalisation or the motivation of someone to commit acts of terror in the country is now heavily influenced by social media, both in the form of private groups and the internet in general," he said.
He also appealed to families, parents and relatives who know that their family members or people close to them are carrying out activities that lead to criminal acts of terrorism to immediately report them to the nearest police.
"So that we can prevent this as early as possible, from the preparation stage, so that we can avoid terror casualties," he said.
Over a week earlier, five other alleged terrorists were arrested in three separate cases.
One of them was apprehended after transporting a bomb on a train while another was caught allegedly plotting twin-suicide bombings on churches. Both cases took place in East Java province.
The remaining three suspects were members of the now-disbanded Jemaah Islamiyah terror group but were now allegedly pro-IS.
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