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fter seven months of pursuit, the National Police claimed on Friday that they had arrested all terror suspects involved in a suicide bombing at a mosque in the police headquarters compound in Cirebon, West Java.

“The police’s antiterror squad, Densus 88, arrested Nanang Irawan, the last terror fugitive, [on Friday] at 7:10 a.m.,” National Police spokesperson, Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam announced.

The bombing, which was allegedly targeted at the police, killed the perpetrator and injured 27 others as police officers attended Friday prayers at the Az-Dzikra mosque.

Following the incident, the National Police declared five suspects: Nanang, Yadi Al Hasan, Heru Komarudin, Beni Asri and Ahmad Yosefa.

According to the police, they are members of the Cirebon terrorist network, which calls itself Tauhid Wal Jihad.

The police allege that Yadi Al Hasan, 30, is the leader of the group and the mastermind of the terror attack in Cirebon.

He was arrested without resisting at his parents’ house in Pasidangan village, Gunung Jati district, Cirebon, West Java, on Thursday, a day before Nanang was arrested. “[Yadi] is the one who postulates that suicide bombing is ‘halal’. He was a member of Jamaah Anshorut Tauhid [JAT], lead by noted terrorist Abu Bakar Baasyir, but then he defected and created the Tauhid Wal Jihad group,” Anton said.

He said that the police had a week to complete evidence gathering and the questioning of the two new suspects, Nanang and Yadi.

On Oct. 8, the police arrested Heru Komarudin and Beni Asri separately. Heru was arrested in Pasar Senen, Central Jakarta, while Beni Asri, was arrested in Solok, West Sumatra. Another suspect, Ahmad Yosefa, was killed in a suicide attack in Solo last month. He blew himself up following a mass at the Sepenuh Injil Bethel Church in Surakarta.

The authorities allege that the attacks in Surakarta and Cirebon were linked and were possibly carried out by the same group due to the two incidents bearing similarities, such as the use of low-tech explosives containing nails and screws.

The effort to crack down on terrorist activities has been spurred by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s initiative, during the celebrations of the 66th anniversary of the Indonesian Military (TNI), in which he asked the TNI to cooperate with the National Police.

Yudhoyono also instructed security officers to take immediate action to confront the threat of terrorism, including the use of preventive measures. (rpt)