Indonesia: Police Seize Bombs, Arrest Terror Suspects in Sumatra

Indonesian counterterror police are questioning six men detained in Sumatra on the weekend, including three who were allegedly plotting to bomb Indonesia’s national parliament, officials said.

Police picked up three individuals in Pringsewu, near the southern tip of Sumatra, on Sunday, Amran Ampulembang, an intelligence official at Lampung regional police, told BenarNews.

The day before, at Riau University in Pekanbaru, about 700 miles north, authorities seized four handmade bombs and arrested three suspects who were plotting to attack the national parliament building in Jakarta and the provincial parliament building as well, Riau Regional Police Chief Nandang told reporters.

The men, former students of the university, are suspected members of Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), National Police spokesman Muhammad Iqbal told BenarNews in Jakarta. JAD is composed of about two dozen Indonesian extremist groups that have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, according to the U.S. government, which has listed the network as a terrorist entity.

Iqbal confirmed only one arrest in Lampung and declined to say whether that detainee was linked to the three arrested in Riau.

“We’re still investigating. Still trying to find out,” he said.

Full story: BenarNews

Arie Firdaus and Dina Febriastuti
Jakarta and Pekanbaru, Indonesia