Sunday, September 23, 2012

Indonesian police arrest 10 Islamic terrorists with homemade bombs

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — An elite Indonesian anti-terror squad has arrested 10 Islamic militants and seized a dozen homemade bombs from a group suspected of planning suicide attacks against security forces and the government, police said Sunday.

Eight suspects were arrested Saturday in Central Java's Solo town and a ninth in West Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, national police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said. He said a 10th suspect, Joko Parkit, was arrested Sunday in Solo.

Parkit's brother, Eko Joko Supriyanto, was shot to death by police in 2009 during raids seeking Southeast Asia's most wanted Islamist militant, Noordin M. Top. Noordin was killed by police a year later.

Amar said two of those arrested, Badri Hartono and Rudi Kurnia Putra, worked to recruit young men and taught at least one member of the group how to make bombs.

"They were the central figures of the group who had planned several terror attacks," Amar said. "They recruited, invited young men to be trained in a military-style jihadi camp and bought bomb-making materials."

He said the group planned to bomb the country's Parliament, shoot police and attack members of the anti-terrorism squad as part of a plan to establish Islamic Sharia law in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation.

Police seized 12 homemade bombs along with other partially assembled bombs, three rifles, four swords and several jihadist books.

More...