South and West Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Anton Setiadji confirmed that Densus 88 operatives apprehended Basri, the principal of pesantren (Islamic boarding school) Tanfizul Al Qur'an.

"Yes, ustadz Basri was arrested by Densus 88 today [Friday], but I have not received full information on the arrest reasons," he said.

Anton acknowledged that Densus 88 operatives had coordinated with him prior to the arrest and that his force provided a number of police personnel as back-up.

Police said that there had been surveillance on Basri for quite some time after he allegedly accepted the allegiance of members of the Islamic State (IS) movement at his pesantren. Basri was also thought to be involved in terrorist actions.

An eyewitness said that Basri was arrested while riding a motorcycle with his 3-year-old son after buying some groceries at a market in the BTN Hartaco Daya residential complex, which is located close to his pesantren.

Basri's family and the pesantren members said they were unaware of the arrest because they had received no information from the authorities.

"We are still looking for Basri's whereabouts. We are concerned for his safety," said Muhlis, one of the teachers at the pesantren. (nvn)(+++)

Popular

Early school a new burden

Rights group call for probe into alleged extrajudicial killing in Nduga

Suspected killer of Minnesota lawmaker caught after two-day manhunt