Suspects in police murders linked to Dulmatin

The National Police said that two suspects arrested in East Kalimantan on allegations of involvement in a fatal drive-by shooting had harbored the bodyguards of Bali bomb mastermind Dulmatin.

Two police officers standing guard in front of a Bank Central Asia (BCA) branch in Palu, Central Sulawesi, were killed in a drive-by shooting last month.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said that two suspects, identified as Muhammad Sibghotulloh and Yuwardi, were arrested on June 11. They are part of a group of 18 suspects allegedly implicated in the deadly drive-by shooting.

"They were involved in military-like training in Aceh and they helped hide the bodyguards of Dulmatin and Umar Patek," he said on Tuesday.

He added that the two men allegedly supplied firearms from the Philippines.

"They were involved in the planning of [shooting] police officers guarding Bank Central Asia (BCA) in Palu and were allegedly involved in the bombing of a Cirebon mosque," he said.

A suicide bomber attacked a mosque in the Cirebon Police compound in West Java in April.

"This is under investigation," Anton further said.