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Police say Jakarta attack funded by IS in Syria Police say Jakarta attack funded by IS in Syria
(about 9 hours later)
JAKARTA, Indonesia — An audacious attack in the heart of Indonesia’s capital by suicide bombers was funded by the Islamic State group, police said Friday, as they arrested three men on suspicion of links to the plot and seized an IS flag from one of the bombers. JAKARTA, Indonesia — An audacious attack by suicide bombers in the heart of Indonesia’s capital was funded by the Islamic State group, police said Friday, as they seized an IS flag from the home of one of the attackers and carried out raids across the country in which one suspected militant was killed.
National police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti told reporters that Thursday’s attack was funded by IS through Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian who spent one year in jail for illegal possession of weapons in 2011, and is now in Syria fighting for the Islamic State. National police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti told reporters that Thursday’s attack was funded by IS through Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian who spent one year in jail for illegal possession of weapons in 2011, and is now in Syria fighting for the group.
Supporters of the Islamic State group also circulated a claim of responsibility for the attack on Twitter late Thursday. The radical group controls territory in Syria and Iraq, and its ambition to create an Islamic caliphate has attracted some 30,000 foreign fighters from around the world, including a few hundred Indonesians and Malaysians. Supporters of IS also circulated a claim of responsibility for the attack on Twitter late Thursday. The radical group controls territory in Syria and Iraq, and its ambition to create an Islamic caliphate has attracted some 30,000 foreign fighters from around the world, including a few hundred Indonesians and Malaysians.
The IS link, if proved, poses a grave challenge to Indonesian security forces. Until now, the group was known only to have sympathizers with no active cells capable of planning and carrying out a plan such as Thursday’s in which five men attacked a Starbucks cafe and a traffic police booth with hand-made bombs, guns and suicide belts. They killed two people — a Canadian and an Indonesian — and injured 20. The attackers were killed subsequently, either by their suicide vests or by police. The IS link, if proved, poses a challenge to Indonesian security forces. Until now, the group was known only to have sympathizers with no active cells capable of planning and carrying out a plot such as Thursday’s in which five men attacked a Starbucks cafe and a traffic police booth with handmade bombs, guns and suicide belts. They killed two people, one a Canadian and the other an Indonesian, and injured 20 in the first major attack in Indonesia since 2009. The militants were killed, either by their suicide vests or by police.
The attack “was funded by ISIS in Syria through Bahrun Naim,” Haiti told reporters after Friday prayers, using an acronym for the Islamic State. He did not elaborate. The attack “was funded by ISIS in Syria through Bahrun Naim,” Haiti told reporters after Friday prayers, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. He did not elaborate.
He also identified one of the five attackers as Sunakim, who was once sentenced to seven years in jail for his involvement in military-style terrorist training in Aceh, but was released early. He also identified one of the five attackers as Sunakim, who in 2010 was sentenced to seven years in jail for his involvement in military-style training in Aceh, but was released early.
Also Friday, police arrested three men at dawn in their homes in Depok on the outskirts of Jakarta, and more raids were being conducted in Java, Kalimantan and Sulawesi provinces based on evidence found at the scene, national police spokesman Maj. Gen. Anton Charliyan said. Police conducted raids across Indonesia but was it unclear whether those arrested were suspected of links to the bombing or if police were rounding up militants as part of a broader crackdown in its aftermath. They also outlined a partial reconstruction of events based on security camera video, part of which showed a Starbucks customer escaping from the grip of a bomber before he detonated his suicide bomb. Police did not identify the customer but said he or she suffered minor injuries.
“Now we can be sure that it was the action of ISIS because ISIS’ flag was found in the house of one of the suspects,” he said. “Hopefully, the group’s (other) members will be captured soon.” National police spokesman Maj. Gen. Anton Charliyan said an IS flag was found in the home of one of the attackers and raids were conducted in Java, Kalimantan and Sulawesi, with four arrests made. Charliyan said three men arrested at dawn in their homes in Depok on the outskirts of Jakarta are no longer suspected of being linked to the attack. On Friday evening, police searched the home of another of the dead bombers whom they identified as Muhammad Ali.
In recent years, Indonesian anti-terror forces had successfully stamped out another extremist group known as Jemaah Islamiyah. It was responsible for several attacks in Indonesia, including the 2002 bombings of bars in Bali, which left 202 people dead, as well as two hotel bombings in Jakarta in 2009 that killed seven people. Haiti said a suspected militant was killed in a gunbattle in central Sulawesi, the hiding place of Indonesia’s most wanted Islamic radical, Abu Wardah Santoso, who leads the East Indonesia Mujahidin network that has pledged allegiance to IS. He said the man wasn’t linked to Thursday’s attack.
Terrorism experts say IS supporters in Indonesia are drawn from the remnants of Jemaah Islamiyah. In recent years, Indonesian counterterrorism forces successfully stamped out the extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah that was responsible for several attacks, including the 2002 bombings of bars in Bali which killed 202 people, as well as two hotel bombings in Jakarta in 2009 that killed seven people. Terrorism experts say IS supporters in Indonesia are drawn from the remnants of Jemaah Islamiyah and other groups.
Jakarta residents were shaken by Thursday’s events but refused to be cowed. Jakarta residents remained shaken by Thursday’s events but refused to be cowed.
The area near the Starbucks cafe remained cordoned off with a highly visible police presence. Onlookers and journalists lingered, with some people leaving flowers and messages of support. About 200 people, mostly youngsters with flowers in their hands, gathered in front of the Starbucks in a show of sympathy for the victims and solidarity against extremist violence. They unfurled posters that read, “We are not afraid.”
A large screen atop the building containing the Starbucks displayed messages that said “#prayforjakarta” and “Indonesia Unite.” “Whatever they did, they have killed life,” said Muji Sutrisno, a noted Indonesian intellectual. “Indonesia is a strong state, it will not be provoked by terrorism.”
Newspapers carried bold front-page headlines declaring the country was united in condemnation of the attack, which was the first in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, since the hotel bombings in 2009. A large LCD screen atop the building containing the Starbucks displayed messages saying “#prayforjakarta” and “Indonesia Unite.”
Risti Amelia, an accountant at a company near the Starbucks said she was “still shaking and weak” when she returned to her office Friday. Because staff remained emotional, the company decided to send workers home, she said. ___
Supporters of the Islamic State group circulated a claim of responsibility on Twitter late Thursday. The message said attackers carried out the Jakarta assault and had planted several bombs with timers. It differed from Indonesian police on the number of attackers, saying there were four. Associated Press writer Stephen Wright contributed to this report.
The statement could not be independently verified by The Associated Press, though it resembled previous claims made by the group.
Taufik Andri, a terrorist analyst, said although the attack ended swiftly and badly for the attackers, their aim was to show their presence and ability.
“Their main aim was just to give impression that ISIS’ supporters here are able to do what was done in Paris. It was just a Paris-inspired attack without being well-prepared,” he told The Associated Press. Those attacks in November killed 130 people.
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Associated Press Writer Stephen Wright contributed to this report.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.