BNPT: Woman Pointing Gun outside State Palace Is HTI Member

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia’s Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) has released the result of its preliminary investigation into the incident of a woman pointing a gun at the Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres) outside the Merdeka Presidential Palace in Jakarta today, Tuesday, October 25, 2022.

The woman who was identified as Siti Elina is said to be a member of a Muslim hardline group that had been disbanded by the government, Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia or HTI.

“She often posted caliphate propaganda through her social media accounts,” said BNPT director R Ahmad Nurwakhid to Tempo on Tuesday, October 25, 2022.

Nurwakhid said that further investigations into the profiles and motives of the perpetrator are still being carried out to obtain accurate information on the potential links with other actors. The agency is also coordinating with security forces to collect data related to terrorism networks.

“To determine whether the perpetrator is part of a terrorist network or a lone wolf,” he said.

He emphasized that terror incidents involving women in the country were not a new issue. He recalled the bomb threat at the Presidential Palace which was thwarted by law enforcement officials back in 2016.

“Densus 88 secured one of the brides who wanted to take action at the palace named Dian Yuli Novi, and there was also Zazkia Aini who launched an attack on the National Police Headquarters in 2021,” the BNPT director mentioned.

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