Police Arrest 12 Terror Suspects Before, After Medan Bombing

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - From November 9 to 14, before and after the Medan bombing took place, the police arrested 12 terror suspects in different locations. The suicide bombing yesterday injured six people. 

In Banten, three suspected terrorists were arrested. The suspects have been confirmed to be members of the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), and they had participated in military training and joined ISIS during the war in Syria.

In Central Java, the police arrested a man who is currently in custody for interrogation. "He fought with ISIS in Syria," National Police Headquarters's spokesman Brig. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo said on November 14.

In Riau, five terror suspects were arrested. They are linked to the same terrorist network that another suspect, who had been arrested earlier, is part of. During the arrest, the police confiscated pipes—presumably kept as materials to make bombs, as well as several books about jihad.

In Bekasi, the police arrested Wiji Joko Santoso a.k.a. Patria a.k.a. DWI. Dedi said the police suspect Wiji to have played roles in several radical activities, including as an international liaison in 2014 and a military trainer in Moro, Philippines from 1999 to 2002. Wiji's military skills include making bombs and weapons. He went to Syria to join the Free Syrian Army.

Today in Cianjur, the Densus 88 anti-terror squad arrested a married couple suspected of terror-related activities. The husband is a teacher at a school in Cibanteng.

Halida Bunga