Indonesia's police nab terror suspects in Medan



Indonesia counterterrorism squad Densus 88 conduct a raid in Tangerang, following a recent spate of terror attacks in the country, on May 16, 2018.
PHOTO: AFP

JAKARTA (JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Counterterrorism squad Densus 88, with the assistance of North Sumatra Police personnel, have arrested a number of terror suspects in several locations in North Sumatra, including the provincial capital of Medan, following a series of attacks in Surabaya.

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.

Meanwhile, Densus 88 personnel arrested at least two other suspects in Medan, who were identified as 28-year-old ojek driver MYR and 38-year-old milk seller SL, on the same day. A suspect identified as W reportedly fled during an attempted arrest.

All suspects have been taken to the North Sumatra Police's Mobile Brigade headquarters and put under heavy guard of police personnel.

The police, however, had yet to publish the number and names of suspects as of Wednesday evening.

"We are still investigating it," North Sumatra Police spokesman Tatan Dirsan Atmaja said.

Since the suicide bombings on three churches in East Java's Surabaya, police personnel have arrested a number of terror suspects across the country, namely 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, siaga I, in response to the terror attacks in Surabaya, East Java, on Sunday and Monday and Pekanbaru in Riau on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the airport's general manager, Bayuh Iswantoro, said security had been increased since Monday.

"We have received help from the police and Indonesian Military (TNI)," he said. "The siaga I 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.

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