North Sumatra police chief General Oegroseno said the extremist commando was planning an attack “against Cikeas, President Yudhoyono’s private residence in Bogor Regency, West Java.” The accused “confessed to the plan.”
Security forces have identified the six terrorists. They are Komaruddin, aka Abu Musa, 35, from Lampung province; Ibrahim, aka Deni, 31, from East Java; Yusuf Arifin, 25, from Bandar Lampung; Bayu, aka Budi, 26, from Central Java; Pandu, aka Abu Asama, 26, from Surakarta; and Lutfi, aka Jafar, 30, also from East Java.
At 1 am yesterday, police in Medan stopped a suspicious vehicle. The minivan was too dirty for a local car. Passengers appeared tired, like after a long trip, and one had a gunshot wound on the left arm.
Police had been after them since March, when they fled a safe house in Aceh province. Before fleeing the group was able to hide their weapons, police sources said.
One of the two terrorists who eluded capture might be Saptono, aka Pak Tuo, who, according to anti-terror police chief Tito Karnavian, might have taken over the commando led by Dulmatin after the latter died in a shootout with police back in March in South Tangerang. Saptono is one of Indonesia’s 25 most wanted people.
Recent arrests of suspected terrorists show that the Indonesian government is intent on fighting Islamic extremism, which is now recruiting women.
Last week, there was a hearing in the trial of Putri Munawaroh, 21, who was arrested during an operation that led to the death of Noordin Moh Top.
In a statement, Munawaroh said that she “would have preferred to have died as a martyr for Allah” than be arrested by security forces.
The young woman is accused of sheltering terrorists. Her husband, who was killed during the police raid, was one of Noordin’s closest allies.